The Art of Humans Being
by KillingMyMind
Summary: After the Weirdmaggedon defeat, Bill takes a human body in order to fulfill the overwhelming desire to make the Pines twins suffer for the duration of their meaningless human lives. Along the way, the self-described spirit being of pure energy with no weaknesses while in true form learns what it truly means to be human. Rating may change later. Human, female Bill (expl. in story)
1. Chapter 1 New Hire

**This is my first EVER fanfic that I had started over three weeks ago, but I got caught up reading a whole bunch of other fanfics and so, yeah, this is taking me a lot longer to put out than anticipated. Please leave me a note and tell me what you think. Like I said, first ever, so...yeah. Be kind. :)**

 **New Hire**

Dipper glanced up half-heartedly at the calendar hanging on the wall in the kitchen. August 28, 2021. It was the day. The day. "Ugh, is that today?" he said quietly to himself. It was a bright, sunny day in August, and exactly five years to the day after he and his sister and the rest of his odd family and friends had won back Gravity Falls from the triangular being they knew as Bill Cipher. He grabbed the crumpled newspaper that Soos had obviously already rummaged through to try to push the memories of that day out of his mind. Just the same old boring headlines glared back at him. Nothing interesting ever happened here anymore. All the strangeness inexplicably disappeared about a month after that day. The gnomes, multi-bear, manotaurs; they were all gone. He never thought much about them, though, especially since staying away from Gravity Falls until about a year ago.

He had spent a good deal of time trying to suppress what had happened five years ago. He didn't want to think about what could have been...what might have happened if Bill had ultimately won. Just the thought of that demon made him shudder; everything he had put him through. Dipper was glad he would never have to deal with him again. The statue was put into a stronghold built by Stanford before he and Stanley left Gravity Falls for an open-sea adventure. Sometimes, Dipper thought about going into the third floor of the basement to check and make sure it was still there, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. One look at that demon's single eye might make him lose it and want to pound the statue into dust. But Ford was very explicit in his warnings about doing that. To harm the statue in any way could lead to an escape by the demon, and nobody wanted that.

Dipper and Mable moved permanently to the sleepy town in Oregon after they graduated high school. They worked part-time for Soos at the Mystery Shack, and also got to move back in, but they still had to share the attic room since Soos had taken Stan's. Wendy still worked there, too, but was holding out hope for a breakthrough job she really wanted in New York. Even though her chances of getting the job were remote, she had already given Soos a heads-up about her plans, and there was a HELP WANTED sign looming in the front window of the shack, which greatly upset Dipper every time he saw it.

He had tried hard over the past year to convince Wendy to give him a chance with her, now that he was older and the age difference didn't matter anymore. "Don't give up, Dipper!" Mabel would always tell him when he had shared his latest rejection with his twin. Her overly optimistic attitude was as strong as ever. But Wendy had always turned him down, that is, until about two weeks ago. Much to Dipper's surprise, she finally gave in. He never thought he could be so happy. He was finally dating Wendy. But it was only a couple days later that she announced the job in New York was hers if she wanted it. Dipper tried as hard as he could to keep her from taking it. He simply could not accept that she would leave just as they finally got together in the relationship he always wanted. Especially upsetting was the fact that this job was a statistical long shot for Wendy. She had no experience and only interviewed over video chat. _Typical of my luck,_ he had thought to himself when he had heard the news. Dipper, being the unselfish guy he has always been, didn't try for long, though. He ended up telling her that it was selfish of him to ask her to stay in this dead-end job, and that she would be missing out on the chance of a lifetime if she didn't accept this amazing opportunity. She left on an uncharacteristically (it being August) rainy Monday morning.

"So whatcha doin today, _little_ brother?" The sheer sound of his sister's unadulterated perkiness was more than he could handle this morning.

"Aren't we a little old for that now, Mabel?" he retorted bluntly. The joke about Dipper being the shorter twin, if only by a millimeter (not to mention younger, if only by minutes) was not something he wanted to hear right now. "Gees, we're turning eighteen in just a few days."

"Aww, c'mon bro, don't be like that." Mabel practically sang the words, still being too upbeat for Dipper's liking.

"Just go away, will ya?!" he snapped back. "I'm in no mood for your enthusiasm right now."

"Sheesh! What's got your goat today?" she said, finally toning down a bit. But it came back again, almost instantly. "Hey! I know what your problem is!" The smirk in her tone was almost too much for him. He shot her that look of _don't you dare_ , hoping she would give it up and leave him alone. No such luck. "You're upset about Wendy's replacement!" At that, Dipper nearly fell out of his seat. "That's it, isn't it! I always know what's bothering my lit-" but she was cut short by Dipper's frantic shriek.

"WHAT?! W-When did this happen?!" He could barely catch his breath as he was beginning to hyperventilate. He rose quickly from his chair, slamming it into the wall. As he approached his sister, she could see the panic in his eyes. "Mabel! Tell me you're joking! This is just another one of your stupid jokes, right?"

Although he had known this day would come eventually, Dipper wasn't prepared. Mabel knew it wasn't the time anymore to be her typical perky self. "Oh man, you really didn't know?" she asked, completely serious now. Dipper's face immediately gave her the answer. "Dipper, I-"

"No!" he interrupted, suddenly in full denial. "You're just making this up! Why do you constantly have to do things like this to me?! Man, you can be such a bi-". He couldn't finish the word. He would never forgive himself if he called her that name.

Mabel's face fumed at the word she knew her brother wanted to say. Now _she_ was mad. "Why don't you just go into the gift shop where Soos is talking with the new hire right now?!" she said in a tone Dipper wasn't used to hearing from his twin. Dipper's heart began to race as he saw, and heard, how dead serious she was. He made his way to the other side of the shack faster than he ever had before. Mabel was still so furious that she slumped down into one of the other chairs, not caring what was going through her brother's mind right now. "Serves him right if he's not ready for this, he had long enough to try to get used to the fact that Wendy would be replaced," she sulked to herself.

Dipper stopped just short of the door frame that opened up into the shop. He hesitated to look, hoping he wouldn't find some tween looking for an easy job that he would have to babysit all the time. Or, even worse, the basement-dwelling, nerdy type guy who was an eyesore to look at. As he waited behind the wall, Soos finally stopped talking and the new hire began to speak. The voice Dipper heard was not that of a young teenager, and definitely not a guy's voice. It was a very smooth, angelic sounding voice, coming from a woman. Now he _had_ to look.

He carefully peered around the door frame and what he saw was beyond his wildest imagination. She was beautiful. He'd never seen such beauty before. Not even an airbrushed, photo-shopped super model could have looked better. She wore a simple black tank top underneath a tight-fitting, half length, bold yellow leather jacket. A simple black mini skirt fell loosely over dark caramel, toned thighs. One of her knee-length, black patent leather, five inch tall Stilettos was gently tapping the wood floor. And then there was the hair. It was a golden blonde that almost glowed, even in the dim lights of the gift shop. Each loose curl barely hung down to her shoulders, short and sassy. To top it all off, a little black beret sat neatly off to one side of her head, the same side where her hair completely covered one of her eyes.

Dipper's stare must have burned a hole through her as she suddenly stopped chatting and turned his direction. He ducked back behind the wall as fast as he could, hoping beyond hope that she hadn't seen him. Heat burst into his face, and he was positive he had turned completely red.

"Hey!" the angelic voice called out in his direction. _Dangit!_ he thought to himself, now more red than ever. "Who was that?" she inquired of her new boss.

"Oh, that was probably just Dipper," Soos said casually. "That dude is kinda shy around new people."

"A-Actually, it's Mason." Dipper managed to squeak out as he slinked around the corner. He decided he'd better come out before Soos said something really embarrassing. Not that his childhood nickname wasn't bad enough.

"Oh, hey Dip- uh, I mean _Mason_ ," Soos said with an over-enthusiastic wink. "Come meet the newest member of our fine establishment." Dipper rolled his eyes at Soos as he carefully approached them near the counter. He wasn't known for being terribly agile on his feet, something he wished he'd grown out of by this age. He was also hoping the redness in his face had retreated, even if just a little bit. "Wow, dude! Your face is like, totally red, dawg!" _No such luck_ he thought as he flashed an angry look at Soos. "Don't be mad, bro, I just call it as I see it," Soos giggled. "So, hey, this is Isabelle. She starts tomorrow."

"Hello, Dipper," she said formally, ignoring Dipper's previous announcement of his actual name. The young woman flashed a smile at Dipper that made him feel uneasy. He already wasn't the smoothest person around females, especially ones he deemed to be way out of his league, and this one was so far out that he felt they were from two different universes. Dipper's eyes locked on hers, well at least the one that wasn't hidden behind her hair. He was mesmerized by the deepness of the blue staring back at him. "Please, call me Bill," she said coyly while extending her hand.

"Wh-what did you just say?" Dipper's face lost all color as he tried to lift his hand, but was shaking too violently.

"I said you can call me Belle." Her voice was even more angelic than before.

"Oh, I...uh. Gees, sorry. I-I thought you said something else," he managed to stammer out as he nervously raised his hand to meet hers. He felt as if he were stuck in slow motion as he watched the perfect hand with incredibly sharp fingernails that had the same blue color as her eyes come toward him. The moment their hands touched Dipper felt an electrical shock shoot through his arm.

"Oh!" Belle exclaimed, almost forcibly. "My boots must have worked up quite a bit of static electricity. I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed through a held back laugh.

But the feeling was far more painful than any little static electricity. He felt as if he had just grabbed onto the hot wire of an electric fence. Dipper suddenly felt very sick to his stomach and had to excuse himself from their presence. He ran upstairs to his bathroom and splashed some cool water on his face. "Get it together, Dipper," he told himself as he hung his head over the sink. _I coulda swore she said 'Bill'. Why would I think that?_ He brushed off his thoughts and chalked them up to his nerves getting the better of him.

"Knock, knock" Mabel called out as she peeked around the bathroom door. "You ok, Dipper? You looked totally pale when you ran past me. Is everything ok?"

 _Ugh...Mabel. Why does she always have to pry?_ He tried to keep his tone as bland as possible. "It's nothing, sis. Just felt like I was going to throw up, but the feeling is gone now. Nothing to worry about."

"Wow, bro, you must be more upset than I thought. I'm sorry about earlier..."

"No, Mabel, it's my fault. I'm the one with the bad attitude about things." Dipper came out from behind the door and went to lie down in his room. Mabel, much to his dismay, quickly followed.

"Well?" she asked impatiently as she bounced down on the foot of his bed.

"Well, what? Mabel, I'm not in the moo-" He was suddenly interrupted by Mabel's uncontainable giddiness.

"What did you think of her?!" she squealed. Dipper rolled his eyes at her. She wasn't going to give up, and he knew it.

"I don't know, she's- pretty, I guess." _A goddess,_ he thought to himself, but he didn't want to add unnecessary fuel to his sister's already annoying match-making fire.

"Oh, come on, Dipper! She's drop-dead gorgeous! I don't know what a girl like that would want with a sucky job like this place has to offer, but aren't _you_ lucky!"

"Ye-ah, I'm just _so_ full of luck," he said rolling his eyes at her, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Like I'd even have a chance with someone like her, n-not that I even want that chance..." His mind immediately drifted to Wendy, and guilt suddenly washed over him.

"Pffft! Of course you'd want that chance! Who wouldn't?! You almost sounded guilty there, bro-bro. It's not like you're currently ta-" she cut herself off, throwing a hand over her lips, and quickly shot a look of sincere regret at her brother. "Ohmygosh, I didn't-" This time Dipper did the interrupting.

"Real sensitive of you there, Mabel. I'm quite aware that I am no longer with Wendy, but that doesn't mean I can't hold on to the smallest glimmer of hope that this new job of hers won't work out and she'll be back here in no time." As soon as the words were out, he realized how stupid he sounded. He shot his hands up and rubbed them slowly down his face. "Sorry. You're right. I just need to let that go."

"Mmhmm," she nodded in agreement. "Anyways, you better get back down there, and this time, try to stick around longer than ninety seconds!" she snickered. She jumped up and ran out of the room before he could even open his mouth to respond. _Probably rushing off to make plans for a wedding,_ he mused to himself.

He decided to close his eyes and clear his head. A voice startled him awake. _Did I doze off? Hmm, I wonder what time..._ There was the voice again. It was coming from outside his window. It was angelic. He scrambled over to the window and looked down just in time to see Belle pulling her left leg into her car and shut the driver's door. It was a bright yellow Camaro with black racing stripes, and couldn't have been more than a few months old. "Wow, nice." he said under his breath. _This woman is so out of place here. Seems more suited to be working with the Northwest family._ He began to turn away from the window when movement of the car's driver-side window caught his attention. The nearly black tinted window slowly slid down into it's hiding place within the car door. The beautiful blonde looked up toward Dipper and once again flashed him the same unsettling smile as before. _What the heck is that?! What is that look supposed to mean?_ His thoughts continued to bother him the rest of the day. He couldn't focus on anything meaningful as he could only think about _her_. There was something about the way she looked at him. It didn't sit right with him.

...

Belle stepped into her lavishly appointed apartment, closed the door hard behind her, and skipped into the kitchen to fix a snack. "This is going to be fun," she said with a devilish grin plastered on her face. Her mind was filled with an endless list of all the evil things she was going to do to those Pines twins.

...


	2. Chapter 2 Unfortunate Accident

_Five years prior~_

 **Unfortunate Accident**

Stanford was waiting patiently for his brother outside the shack in the car. They were finally leaving for their adventure at sea after four weeks of planning and preparation. Stanley had finally recovered his full memory after having it erased in order to rid Gravity Falls of Bill Cipher, once and for all. At least, everyone thought all the memories had come back. There was one left that nobody else could have reminded him of. It was the one that nobody but Stanley had seen, himself.

As soon as Grunkle Stan had clicked the last latch shut on his suitcase, he suddenly felt light headed and fell to the hard wood floor. His head hit the side of the dresser on the way down, hard enough to knock him unconscious for a few seconds. During those few, unfortunate seconds, he had a vision of a yellow triangle with one eye surrounded by blue flames, and him punching that triangle into oblivion. It was the one thing he hadn't remembered, and wasn't supposed to remember so that the demon could never be brought back into their world. But in that moment it all came back to him.

"Stan! Stanley! You ok?" his brother yelled in a concerned voice as he ran into the room. A concerned Soos and Wendy quickly followed. Stan's eyes opened to see his twin brother hovering over him.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine. Just blacked out there for a second," he explained as he rubbed the bump starting to rise on his head. At that instance, a sharp pain grew in the back of his head. It grew rapidly until it was so intense that it made him scream out in agony. Then, as quickly as it came on, it was gone, like something had shot out of his head.

"Whoa...what was that all about?" his brother asked with concern. "Maybe we should get you to a doctor."

"Ah...uh, n-nothin. I just got a pain in my head, probably from the bump. It's gone now, though. Don't worry about me, let's get goin'! Treasure and babes await!" he chuckled, trying to hide any concern about what he had just experienced.

As soon as the car doors were closed and the last of waving hands were out of sight, a golden glow began to grow above the trees near the Mystery Shack. Within a sudden burst of blinding light there materialized a golden, one-eyed triangle wearing a top hat and bow tie and twirling a cane.

The triangle let out an evil laugh as it stretched out its arms. "Oh, Stan. You sure messed up this time!" It followed after the Stans but was stopped short by the energy barrier which locked it into Gravity Falls. The car was already on the other side of the barrier. "Darn. Guess I'll have to find someone else in town to torture." It had two other members of the Pines family in mind.

The entity decided to head to the Mystery Shack, the one sure place it knew it would be able to find the whereabouts of Dipper and Mabel. After a few hours, it was able to get all the information it needed from the minds of Soos and Wendy. Well, mostly Wendy. Bill decided Soos' mind was much too muddled and confusing to bother listening to any longer than five minutes.

"So, I guess Pine Tree and Shooting Star went back home. Hmm...well, I suppose that just gives me more time to plan." The triangle left the Mystery Shack and headed for the forest. It would spend the next five years waiting in eager anticipation of their return.

 **Sorry- short chapter, I know. Wanted to put this out there, though, before any more days went by without updating. Next one is much longer. Please review- I want to hear anything and everything you have to say!**


	3. Chapter 3 Small Talk

Small Talk

Mabel sat hunched over a notebook at the kitchen table, busily scratching down things as quickly as she thought of them. An empty coffee mug sat at arm's reach from her, indicating to Dipper that she had been up for a little while already. _Good thing she started planning months ago_ he thought to himself as he dragged himself into the kitchen to hunt down something to eat.

The twins' birthday was only two days away. Mabel had been working on a big celebration for the past three months. Dipper wasn't too thrilled about having a big party in the first place, and after Wendy left, he definitely didn't feel up to celebrating much of anything. He knew he would have to endure it, though, for his sister's sake. He would never want to make her feel bad, especially after all the effort she was putting into it.

He watched her, day in and day out, as she would meticulously work on all the details. She thought of everything, from the disco theme to exactly how many balloons would be used to decorate the hall she had rented in town. Every day, it seemed, she was adding more to the already long to-do list she kept in the smaller-than-usual spiral notebook.

"Mornin', Dip-dop!" she chirped, not looking up or breaking the pen's stride on the paper.

"Mhmph..." Dipper moaned under his breath. He shuffled up to the coffee maker where there was just enough left for him to pour a mug full, and then pulled out a chair across from his sister at the table. The shriek of metal legs against the ancient hardwood floor made the still half-asleep teen flinch, but seemed inaudible to Mabel. He wasn't much of a morning person anyway, but this morning was a lot harder than usual.

"Woah!" Mabel exclaimed as she finally tore her gaze away from her notebook and looked up at her brother. "I know you don't do mornings well, but I've never seen you _this_ bad before."

"Thanks, Mabel. Appreciate it. Some of us don't get as much beauty sleep as we ought to."

"Oh, pffft! You're as adorkable as ever! But seriously, what happened last night?" no seriousness to be found in her tone, whatsoever. You decide to pull an all-nighter working on somethi-" She cut her coffee-fueled sermon off short as a thought quickly came to mind. A huge smile grew on her already animated face. "Oooh, I know!"

"Mabel, don't..." He knew where she was going, but decided he was too tired to fight her on it, so he just let her finish and have her fun with him.

"You were up all night thinking about _her_ , weren't you!" she smirked as playfully as she knew how.

"Well, yeah, actually I-" Mabel cut him off before he had a chance to explain anything.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed loudly, almost making the poor, groggy boy jump. "Wow, we share a room and everything, and I never once heard-" She couldn't finish as Dipper's hand shot out across the table and slapped over her mouth.

"Dangit, Mabel! Do you not think of anything else?" Frustration now far outweighed his tiredness. "Now, I'm gonna let go... _puh_ - _lease_ let me finish talking, ok?" he said with weighty exasperation. Mabel just sat there and nodded, that huge smile spilling out from under her brother's clammy hand. "Thank you...gees."

He paused a moment to gather his train of thought after releasing her mouth, but then remembered his twin wasn't all too reliable when it came to letting him get a word out so he quickly started again. "I was thinking about her because of the way she looked at me yesterday." He heard a faint gasp and looked up to see his sister biting her lip, trying as hard as she could to not say something. An icy glare was all it took to quiet her back down. "There was something, oh, I dunno...something _off_ about her, I guess. I- I really can't put my finger on it. I've been very uneasy since I first made eye contact with her. And when I shook her hand, I felt a strong jolt, like electricity, shoot through my arm. She made some lame excuse about static electricity from her boots, but it was more than that, Mabel. That's when I began to feel sick to my stomach, like I was gonna puke, and had to run upstairs. At first I thought it was just nerves, but now, I don't think it was. I...I just don't know. It's all w-weirding me out." He bent down over the table, head between his arms, hands folded and resting on the back of his neck.

After a brief moment, when she felt it was finally safe to do so, Mabel spoke. "Well, you wanna know what _I_ think..." It wasn't a question, and Dipper knew he didn't have to answer. "I think you have a serious crush on this girl," she could barely retain her excitement, but knew she had better behave if she wanted to get any future juicy info from her brother. Dipper just sat there, shaking his head in his arms as if to say ' _You're not listening, Mabel!'_ She knew exactly what it meant. "I am too listening, Dip! Are _you_? What you're describing, it's classic crushing!"

"Uhg...I don't know why I even try to communicate with you," he sulked as he pushed away from the table, grabbed his coffee, and headed back up to their room. He could hear the faint whine of Mabel's pleading voice slowly fading away in the background before finally reaching his room and slamming the door shut behind him. Normally, she would have followed right on his heels, but she had too much stuff to do today. But she was sure to make a mental note to bother him about it later.

 _Why did I know this was going to happen,_ he thought as he snagged his personal journal roughly off the shelf and flopped back onto his bed.He began to flip through the pages, scanning over everything he had entered into it over the past year. Rough sketches and notes filled many of the pages as he had tried to recreate the precious journals from that fateful summer. Without Ford, though, it was very difficult to remember everything. He had spent a lot of time over the past year re-tracing his adventures through the surrounding forests, but he never felt that his efforts did the original author's work any justice.

After only a few minutes of rustling through the pages, he decided he'd better get up and get ready for the day. He was in charge of training the new hire, of training _her_. As unsettling as that was, he knew there was no way around it since Soos was busy with tours and Mabel already had plans to go party shopping with Candy and Grenda. He wasn't about to ruin her day because he couldn't shake a weird feeling about a woman he only met for a few seconds. Besides, it would only serve to backfire in his face as he knew Mabel would use all the extra time with Belle to talk about him and how he was 'crushing' on her. _Nope, better that my sister is as far away from that woman as possible today._

Pulling on a clean (well, clean according to Dipper's definition, not most people's) pair of blue jeans and a spruce green T-shirt, he dragged himself to the sink in the small bathroom to attempt to make himself presentable to the world. Absentmindedly, he yanked a brush through his wavy locks a few times before deciding it was utterly useless to even try to tame the beast that was his hair. After a few more primping rituals (a few more than he would normally have done), he decided this was the best he was ever going to look and turned to plod down the stairs. _Time to face the music...er, some such saying like that, I guess._

He slipped into the shop as casually as possible, trying with all his ability to not show his nerves. Soos and Belle were just finishing up a conversation, and Belle looked over as soon as she saw Dipper enter the room. Expecting that uneasy feeling he got yesterday, he tried to avoid eye contact with her at first, but found himself unable to fight the urge to look at her gorgeous face. _Darn these male hormones!_ he thought to himself, but then realized he wasn't getting that tightness in his gut or heaviness in his chest; that uneasy feeling he got from her yesterday. This time, as his mocha eyes met with her deep blues, he was awash with feelings of complete and utter peace. His emotions were satiated with serenity and not once did he think something was off about this woman.

"Hello, Dipper!" Belle called out as their eyes met across the room. The voice seemed to add yet another layer of calm to Dipper; something he didn't think was even possible considering how at ease he already was. It was like succumbing to a tranquilizer, a beautiful sounding tranquilizer...

"Oh, uh, hey Belle!" he replied as he broke the trance that seemed to have caught him for hours, but was really only a split second. "A-are you ready to learn the ropes here?"

"I sure am!" she replied with no hesitation. "Can't wait!"

Her enthusiasm was a bit much, considering how menial and dull working here would be, but Dipper thought it to be cute, nonetheless. No longer paying any mind to what he had felt about yesterday, he jumped into the task of new employee training and found he was more relaxed than ever. Thankfully, Soos left to tend to his duties without saying anything embarrassing to Dipper.

Breaking for lunch, Dipper decided now would be as good a time as any to make a bit of small talk, since he had been too busy with work related conversation all morning. Belle told him her apartment was on the furthest side of town, so she would be spending her lunch hours at the Shack. Dipper was silently pleased about that, to say the least.

Dipper brought out his lunch and spread it on the counter in the shop, leaning against it opposite the new employee who had pulled up a stool and was content to sit there and watch him. "You're not eating?" he inquired after he noticed how she had settled into her seat without anything set before her to eat. She just smiled and shook her head. _Huh, that's a bit odd...must be how she keeps that figure._ He felt a bit of anxiousness start to creep in, the total relaxation he was feeling earlier slowly slipping away.

"So, you drive a pretty nice car, I noticed," he managed to get out without cracking his voice, although it still was higher in pitch than he would've liked. He nervously took a bite of his sandwich. Eating in front of other people who were not family was a bit stressful for him, and even though his nerves were at ease all morning, he couldn't help but start to feel a bit self-conscious.

"Yes, well...it gets me places," she answered, smiling. "I rather prefer not walking, if I can help it, and it also fulfills a deep seeded desire, a craving, if you will, for moving at great velocity."

Dipper couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at her choice of words. She was very formal in the way she spoke, but not at all was she forcing it like she was trying to impress him. It was very much legitimately the way she spoke. "Need for speed, huh?"

"Yes, you could put it that way," she said as she winked the one eye not covered by the glowing blonde hair. It was straight today, not wavy. Each strand looked like spun gold. She was also dressed a lot more casual than yesterday; black denim shorts and a faded yellow v-neck t-shirt tied in a knot on one side. She still wore heeled boots, but they only went up to her ankles. "What about yourself? Do you?"

Dipper could feel some pink rising up in his face, not exactly sure what she was asking. "Um, uh, no...I don't have a car. I j-just use the shack's golf cart when I need to get around."

She smiled wide and let out a small chuckle. "I meant do you also have a desire to move at high rates of velocity... a 'need for speed', as you put it."

"Oh, right, that. Um, yeah? I guess? I mean, I've never-"

"Is that an answer, or a question?" she mused, interrupting his awkward answer. "Dipper, are you alright? Your voice is a bit-shaky."

"Yeah, no...I'm fine. I just get a bit shaky when I'm hungry. Must be low blood sugar." He tried to sound as confident as possible, hoping she'd buy that excuse, as he bit down on the sandwich again. _Ugh, why do I have to sound so stupid!?_ Belle immediately raised an eyebrow, seemingly in response to his thought. _I did say that to myself, right? Crap._ The blonde just smiled and watched the other awkwardly get through his lunch. "A-are you sure you don't want anything? A drink, maybe?"

"I'll take a scotch on the rocks with a twist." Dipper almost choked on his food, then swallowed hard and gave her a bewildered look. Belle burst out laughing. "I was kidding, it was a joke! Please don't choke. I'm not sure I know mouth to mouth resuscitation. Hmm, I bet I could manage though..."

The poor boy's face turned a deep shade of crimson this time. "Oh, right...good one." He gave her a shy smile, trying his hardest to hide his burning face.

"How about some water. A glass of ice water would be nice," she said in a pleasant tone, hoping to help alleviate some of Dipper's awkwardness. Although emotional torture was at the top of her list of fun things to do, she didn't want to scare him off and ruin her chances of toying with his emotions on a much deeper level.

Relieved at being able to vacate the room for a moment, Dipper hurried to the kitchen to fetch the water. _Whew... way to go, idiot. You sure know how to be cool around the ladies, don't you,_ he thought to himself as he tried to regroup in the kitchen. After a few deep breaths, he plodded back into the shop and placed the glass down in front of her.

"So- you like the color yellow, it seems," Dipper chirped, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction.

Belle took a sip of her water, taking in a chunk of ice with it. She sucked on the ice for a moment before crushing it up in her mouth. Dipper could sit and watch her all day. "Yes, very much so. It's a very pleasant color, wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh, sure. Well, I've never thought that it was a good color." Looking up, he quickly realized what he said and stammered to redeem himself. "On me! I-I meant not a good color on me! I didn't mean you-"

Belle quickly cut him off to ease his obvious embarrassment. "Dipper! It's alright, I know what you meant, don't worry so much!" She leaned over, placing a hand on one of his that rested on the counter. "You know, you seem to not be very sure of yourself most of the time, but you can relax around me. Please, just be yourself. I want to know the _real_ you, what makes you tick."

As Dipper stared down at the soft hand covering his own, bright blue fingernails gently tapping his skin, he suddenly felt a feeling of relaxation pour over him. "Sorry, I tend to get a bit flustered around girls my age," he managed to say in a perfectly calm, and less high-pitched than usual, voice. "So, how old are you, anyways?"

 _I have no age, I was created before time was even a thing, you insignificant mortal..._ she wanted to say, but knew she couldn't. Knowing he was almost eighteen, and also knowing that human relationships were more _normal_ when both parties were close in age, she decided eighteen was a nice, round number. Well, it was a multiple of nine, anyways, and she did have a thing about the number nine. She made a mental note to bring that up when the right moment presented itself.

"Eighteen," she replied simply. No making him guess or silly things like that she had seen female humans do to guys before. Dipper just nodded his acknowledgment, not sure of what to talk about next. Thankfully, Belle kept talking. "You have a birthday coming up soon, I heard. You will be eighteen, also, correct?"

"Yeah. My sister is planning this huge party, I think the whole town will be there," he said with a slightly annoyed inflection.

"You don't sound very enthusiastic about it. Don't you enjoy parties, especially those which center on you?" She was genuinely a bit confused at his demeanor regarding the upcoming human custom where people brought the birthday person gifts in return for sweet stuff that looked like a mountain of empty calories. From her research over the past five years, she never saw anyone who disliked the annual day that marked their birth (and ultimately, which was blatantly obvious to her but apparently not to humans, marked one year closer to their death).

"Uh, no, not really. I'm not much of a socialite. That's my sister's thing. I would have rather had a small family get-together, not this overblown celebration she has planned." He just remembered how hard Mabel had been working on their big day, and suddenly felt quite ashamed at his attitude. "But she has been working really hard on all the planning and preparations, and I appreciate her enthusiasm very much. So I'm going to endure it...for her."

"That's so sweet of you, Dipper. You sure do love your sister, don't you." _Too bad, because by the time I'm done with you, you're going to hate each other!_

"Yeah, well, being twins we've grown up really close," he said lovingly as he thought about his sister and everything they'd been through together. "We've always been there for each other, and although she can get on my nerves sometimes, she truly is the best sister anyone could have. I guess you could say she's my best friend." Dipper could feel the pink coming back to his cheeks as he gushed about his sister to this woman he had only known for a few hours. He was finding it easier and easier to open up and talk to her, something he had never been able to do with just anyone before.

"That is really special. I hope you two stay close throughout your lives. There's nothing more heartbreaking than family members who don't get along." _Which, if I get my way, and I always do, is exactly how you two are going to end up._ Belle couldn't help but let the anger within her churn up and within a half second of her thought she could feel the redness start to bleed into her blue eyes. She looked away, hoping Dipper hadn't noticed, as she cooled herself back down.

The rest of the day remained uneventful, just going over more work related tasks and showing Belle around the Shack. At the end of the work day, they said their goodbyes and she got into her yellow Camaro, stirring up the dusty gravel as she left. As soon as she reached the highway that led to the opposite end of town, she pushed the needle past 85. _I certainly do have a need for speed,_ she smiled to herself, letting off of the accelerator when something registered on her radar. She didn't want to get into it with those two sorry excuses for law enforcement... again.

 **A/N~ Hope you liked this chapter! Please leave me a comment, and I'm even open to suggestions, although I pretty much know how I want the story to go. Love to hear what you guys think. Thanks for reading! :D**


	4. Chapter 4 Errands

Errands

With only one more day left before the big party, Mabel was a jumbled mess, running all over the place dealing with last second details. She had made an extra large batch of her infamous Mabel juice this morning, and had clearly made good use of it by the way she was moving. The thought that he would be subjected to said party, and be half of the center of attention in just a little more than 30 hours, was a bit unnerving, and Dipper had to keep reminding himself that he was doing this for his sister.

"Dipper!" she blurted out the second she noticed her disheveled brother come down the stairs. "Here, I have a list of things I need you to do for me today." She practically shoved the piece of folded paper into his shirt pocket, making him nearly topple backwards from the impact. "Number five is the _most important_ one, ok?!" she squealed as she ran out of the shack, not even giving Dipper a chance to respond. _As usual,_ he thought as he retrieved the paper from the pocket.

As he started unfolding, the paper grew larger than he first thought it would be, becoming an almost intimidating scroll in his hands. He quickly skimmed the list to see exactly how many things were on it. _Great, only ten... And here I thought it would be an excruciating couple of dozen things to do._ Sarcasm was his favorite go-to defense mechanism. Usually, he would have liked his sister to hear it, but seeing as she never gave him the chance, he would just have to be satisfied with saying it to himself. For now.

He looked back over the list and took the time to read each line carefully. _1) Gather up all the R.S. V. P.s so we can have an accurate final guest count. 2) Pick up your suit and my dress from the dry cleaners. Uuugh...really?! She's really gonna make me wear that monkey suit?_ (Underneath item number two) _Yes, you're wearing the suit, Dip! Fine, Mabel, sheesh. 3) Make sure the DJ gets the custom play list I put together...his email and cel number are on the fridge. 4) Pick up the cake from the bakery and deliver it to the hall, making sure it gets put in their cool room. 5) Promise me you're gonna relax and have fun, bro-bro! Figures she would think that's the most important thing,_ he thought as he let out a cutsey chuckle under his breath.

"What's so funny, Dipper?" an angelic voice quietly said behind him.

His heart nearly stopped and redness shot through every inch of his skin after nearly jumping out of it. He whirled around and found himself eye to eye with the beautiful blonde, not realizing she was only inches away from him. The closeness made him blush even more, if that were even possible.

"Belle! I-I uh...umm." He choked on his words, his throat more dry than he had ever experienced. He coughed slightly while backing up at the same time. "Y-you're here early, a-aren't you? I-it's not even nine yet. N-not that I don't w-want you here...I mean, it's ok..." his voice betrayed him, returning to the scratchy, high-pitched tone of his youth. He wanted to crawl under a rock and die from the thought of how stupid he sounded.

Belle gave him a sincere smile. "You know...you are so cute when you're nervous." More redness swelled in him at that remark, and Dipper thought he would pass out from his nervousness.

"H-how...y-you..."

"I ran into Mabel outside, and she let me in on the other side of the shack," she answered cutting him off because she knew he was wondering, but didn't want to wait for him to get it out. Patience was one of the human virtues she had to work hardest at.

"O-oh, ok," he responded, sheepishly. He found himself grabbing his own arm and awkwardly holding onto himself, like he used to do as a kid.

He let himself calm down best he could, still a bit worked up over the scare. He never was one for surprises. What bothered him most was how she was able to sneak up on him so quietly, with nary a squeak from the old floorboards. And if she was wearing heels again, which he knew she must be given how they were only eye to eye if she was, how did he not hear those coming, or feel the vibration they should make when making contact with the hard floor. His eyes glanced downward quickly, only to reveal what he already knew: Five inch Stilettos, with _golden metal_ heels, no less. He chalked it up to being too engrossed in Mabel's list to have noticed her entrance.

"Well, since you're here early, I-I guess we'll get started then."

"Sure. That will be just fine." Angelic as ever.

Dipper gave Belle an assignment in the shop as he continued to go over his to-do list. With only one day left until their party, he was racking his brain trying to figure out how he would be able to get all this done on time. He glanced up from reading to check on Belle's progress, only to find himself staring at her backside while she was bent over a box of inventory. He noticed the way the silky black leggings hugged every curve, like it was skin and not clothing. His thoughts wandered for a while, until a loud noise made him snap back to reality. A small souvenir had fallen onto the floor beside him. _Strange, how did that fall over?_ At the same time he finished the thought, he heard that beautiful voice again.

"I think I'm done here, Dipper. What should I do now?"

He bent down and picked up the item that had fallen, setting it carefully on the shelf it belonged to. He then gave Belle more tasks and they both stayed relatively busy for the rest of the morning. When lunchtime came around, Dipper decided he would take the time to go into town to try to get some of the items on his list taken care of. _Probably won't get too much accomplished in such a short amount of time, but I suppose it's better than nothing._ He was about to let Belle know what his plan was when he suddenly got an idea.

"Hey, Belle?" he called out, as he couldn't actually see her, but knew she had to be in earshot.

"Yes, Dipper?" she called back from behind some boxes in the other room. She popped her head up to see him standing in the doorway, nervously playing with the strings of his hoody.

"So- I was thinking...maybe, i-if you want- you don't have to..."

She smiled warmly at him. "Dipper, just ask me, whatever it is, don't be shy. You can ask me anything."

"Oh, ok- thanks. I was just wondering if you might want to come with me into town during our lunch break. I-I need help getting these last minute things done for the party tomorrow, and I thought maybe you could come with me and help. I'd pay you, of course...I-I mean, you wouldn't have to clock-out for the lunch hour, a-and I'll even buy you lunch while we're out...in town, I mean. So, what do you think? You wanna do it? H-help me, I mean? You don't..."

"I know, I know- I don't have to help you. I'm quite sure I have a choice here, silly. Don't be so scared to ask for help. Everyone needs help at sometime or another. I'd love to go with you and help out, and no, you don't have to pay me. Friends don't charge each other for help."

That statement made Dipper smile. _She considers me a friend? Already? We only just met a couple days ago. Huh, nice._ "Oh, ok. Great, that's really nice of you. A-and I'll really owe you one."

He turned to grab his list off the counter and keys from the hook on the wall. After switching the 'open' sign to 'closed for lunch', Dipper held the door open for Belle and followed her into the parking lot after locking up. He was surprised to see her opening the door to the shiny yellow Camaro, signaling to him to get in the other side.

"Oh, um, I didn't mean for us to take _your_ car. We can take the shack's ca-"

"Is there something wrong with _my_ car?" she stated rather bluntly, cutting him off.

"N-no. No! I didn't mean- um, I just meant I didn't expect... You don't have to..."

"Dipper! Calm down! I was kidding!"

"Oh, right, haha...ok," he tried not to sound as stupid as he knew he looked.

"Just get in the car," she mused, trying not to laugh too hard at him.

Dipper slipped into the black leather seat, immediately feeling inadequate. _Wow, way too nice._ He discussed what he wanted to get done before she even turned over the engine. Going over the list, he figured there were at least four things they should be able to do. Belle suddenly reached over to him, holding out her hand. "May I?"

Realizing she must want to see the list, he handed it over. A quick glance at the ten items and she was handing it back to him. She turned the key, bringing the car to life, and backed out of the lot. "Buckle up," she declared pointedly. He quickly did as told, noticing she didn't bother to do the same. After leaving the gravel and getting onto the smooth pavement of the highway, she decided to show the timid teen just what her ride was capable of. After only a few seconds, the needle was already pushing 75 MPH. The poor boy was stiff in his seat, eyes wide, holding onto whatever he could. By the time the needle had broached 100, all the color had left his face.

 _Oh gees, looks like he's going to throw up. Not on this interior..._ "Are you alright?" she asked the pale brunet. He didn't respond, but his mouth did fall open. "Dipper? Hey! Snap out of it, kid!" She didn't realize how loud she was talking until she noticed Dipper flinch significantly. He blinked a few times before turning towards her, mouth still hanging open, eyes wide as saucers. "Sorry, Dipper, I didn't mean to-" A loud "Whooooo!" cut her off.

"That was so...so...invigorating!" He noticed that they had slowed down significantly, and immediately shot her a pouty glance.

"Oh, you want more, do you?" she sneered with a sly grin. "You asked for it."

She threw the stick into the sixth gear over-drive, pushing the car to 105...110...115. At 120 MPH, she decided she didn't want to push it any further. Her personal, internal radar told her there were no authorities around at the moment, so that's not what concerned her. She figured she didn't want him thinking she was truly reckless and dangerous. She calmly brought the vehicle back down to a crawling 60.

"W-wow. That was fantastic." His color had returned and he had a huge grin on his face. "You must have a special engine to get her up to that speed that fast."

"Yes, custom engine. You can't find anything more powerful that's still street legal," she declared with a proud smile.

"Aren't you worried about getting a ticket?"

"Nope. Internal radar." She laughed to herself as she saw his eyes widen again through her peripheral vision, knowing he would take that to mean the car, not her.

"Wow, this car has everything," he stated as he scanned the brightly lit dashboard trying to locate anything that would have anything to do with radars or scanners. _Huh, I thought Grunkle Stan said something to me before about radar detectors being illegal._ He just shrugged off the thought, sinking back down into the soft, comfortable leather seat.

"Yes, it has some great features. Speaking of which, are you feeling warm yet?" she asked casually as she glanced down at his seat.

Dipper blushed a bit, not quite sure what she was talking about, or what exactly she was looking at. Then, all of a sudden, a feeling of warmth began to flood into his bottom and lower back, causing him to stiffen up just a bit. He hadn't noticed when Belle reached to press a button near the center of the dash, turning on the heated seats. "Ooh...yeah. Warm..." was all he managed to squeak out, soaking in the heat under him.

"So..." she looked over to Dipper, giving him a smirk that suddenly made him a bit uncomfortable. "Did you get a good look earlier?"

 _Oh, god._ His face suddenly flooded red as he knew exactly to what she was referring. He immediately threw his hands over his face and let out a muffled, "Ah, frick. How did you know?" He pulled his hands away from his face, but kept looking down, not wanting to see her.

She giggled a bit before answering him. "Who do you think caused the cornicorn figurine to fall over? Had to distract you _somehow_."

Now he quickly glanced up, pure confusion on his face. "What do you mean _you_ _caused_ it to fall?"

She only looked over at him, a cheeky smile on her face, but never offered an answer to his query. The flustered teen decided to discard what he knew to be impossible, chalking up her words to still more teasing on her part. Still, he couldn't figure out how she could have known, since she had her back to him the whole time. _Because Karma always catches up with me._ He shook off the thought and tried to refocus on the errands that needed to be done.

"So, anyways...why don't we get this list of yours taken care of."

"Right, yeah. Um...how about we go to the dry cleaners first, since they are closest." He held his chin while studying the list, trying to decide which other ones to do since there was no way they could do it all in the lunch hour.

"Sure, we could do that, but I have a much more efficient idea, that is, if you want to get everything that can't be done at the shack finished in this trip. I'll drop you off at the center of town, and you can tackle numbers two, six, seven, and ten, because all of those places are within a few blocks of each other. While you're doing that, I'll handle four, eight, and nine."

"Um, how can you remember all that from one quick glance at the list, and then come up with a way to get everything done so efficiently?" He thought about that for a split second before deciding he really didn't want to know. _What I do know is that this strange, mysterious...beautiful...smart..._ He shook himself back to reality. ... _woman is getting weirder by the day._ "Actually, nevermind. I don't need to know."

They reached their first stop relatively fast, no big surprise since they were speeding most of he way. Dipper jumped out of the car, leaning back down to look into the car with one arm resting on the roof. "So, I'll get these four locations, you get your three, and we'll meet back up at, say- Red Rooster? It's just around the corner from here and the closest place to eat where my last stop is."

"Sure thing. See you there." Belle smiled as he stood up and closed the car door. She quickly took off to get the errands done.

Belle's first stop took her to the local bakery to pick up the cake. It was a typical sweet baked goods shop, cakes and cookies and all sorts of diabetes inducing foods. The man behind the counter was middle-aged and portly. _Perfect_ , she thought to herself as she eyed the man dressed mostly in white. _Men are so easy to manipulate, especially ones like these._

The baker looked up and nearly lost his balance as he beheld the beauty that just walked through his door. The skin tight black pants, the playful yellow mid-drift, the wavy golden hair, he took it all in in just a fleeting second. "H-hi! What can I do for you today?" Sweat was already starting to form on his forehead.

Belle flashed him a sexy smile before answering him. "I'm here to pick up something. It should be under Dipper or Mabel Pines." She stalked up to the counter and leaned over the display case, eyes never leaving the baker's.

"Oh, uh...r-right. The Pines twins...for their eighteenth...birthday. A-are you fam-family...friend? Family friend?" His nervousness was delicious to her, and she intended to make him as uncomfortable as possible.

She winked at him. "Something like that, cutie," she said in a sultry voice.

The man's face was deep red now, but his nervousness soon turned into something else. Belle's smile turned a bit flat as she read what was going through his could hear every disgusting thought from the man as if he were saying them out loud, and he might as well have since they were alone in the shop. Even though a relatively short amount of time elapsed, he had fantasized of several different things he would like to do to her, and make her do to him. Belle was no prude, but she also had never seen, let alone heard of, some of the things this guy was thinking, in all her years of studying humans. _Men really are pigs. I'll have to make this guy regret thinking such things about me._ She was reminded of what she went through earlier this morning with Dipper, but his thoughts were tame, cute even in their childishness, and couldn't be compared to this.

The man went into the back to retrieve the cake, and Belle followed silently behind him. As he reached for the very large pink box, the blonde suddenly slipped between him and the shelves. He gave her a shocked look at first, but then started to advance closer. "Well, you're not shy, are you," he said with huge grin. "You lookin' for a little fun, lady? Wait, you're of legal age, right?" _Ain't goin' down that road again, although for_ this _cupcake I might risk it._

"Yes and yes." She let him finish his advance towards her, but as soon as he reached out his hand, she quickly snatched his arm, twisted it behind his back, and gave an extremely hard shove upward, using her other land for leverage. The sound of bone cracking rang out through the small room, quickly replaced with screams of pain. She released her hold and spun him around so he was facing her, placing her hand firmly over his mouth to muffle the screams.

His right arm was limp; broken clean through. Tears were streaming down his pudgy cheeks. She leaned in close and stared him down, hand still locked over his mouth The look of pain in the man's eyes was quickly replaced with that of shear terror. Belle's eyes had turned a deep shade of crimson, and seemed to bore into his soul.

She spoke slowly and purposefully, her voice no longer angelic, but heavy and echoing in the small room. "Listen carefully, you sorry excuse for an inferior life form, because I will not repeat myself. As even your feeble mind should easily be able to assess, I do not take kindly to those thoughts of yours about me. My body is far greater than you could ever imagine, and for you to think about it in the way you just did is blasphemous and highly disrespectful. If I ever hear anything remotely close to that again, I will personally castrate you and force you to eat the results. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

The baker gave a weak nod, and thought to himself how he would never have any thoughts like that about any woman ever again. Belle continued to glare at him with her burning eyes, frustration mounting. She slowly removed her hand from his mouth, signaling that he had better remain quiet. He did, out of pure fear.

"I didn't say anything about _other_ women, I was strictly talking about _me_." He gave her a confused, but still terribly frightened, look. "What you do or think about anyone else is your business, I don't care. When it comes to this (motions to all of herself), however, you _will_ have respect. Got it?"

The man nodded again, holding his shattered arm and trying not to cry any more than he already had. "Good!" she snapped, making him flinch at the sharpness of the word. "Now I'll just take this and leave you to your meaningless life. I hope we never have to meet again." She grabbed the large pink box from the shelf and turned to leave, barely noticing as he raised his good arm in an attempt to get her attention, but trying not to make her mad. "What." It was more a statement than question.

He looked down at the floor, not really wanting to say anything, but thinking to himself how the cake wasn't paid in full yet. She smiled as she turned to face him again, her eyes had cooled back down to their normal blue. "Yes, that. Let's just call it even for your shameful behavior. I'll tell the twins you said it was a birthday gift for them."

With that, she turned and strolled out of the shop. The older man couldn't protest, and couldn't call the authorities, knowing that to do so would be to sign his own death warrant, or worse. He shivered and tried to forget about the whole incident as he slowly made his way to the front of the store to turn the 'open' sign to 'closed'. A trip to the ER was now his top priority.


	5. Chapter 5 Lunch

Chapter 5

"Wow, I can't believe we got everything done already, and with half an hour to spare." Dipper checked his phone. No missed calls or messages.

The young waiter who had seated them a few minutes prior came back to take their order. "Oh, uh..." he scanned the menu one last time and then put it down at the edge of the table. "Just the single, with pepper jack, and...oh, no onions. Medium-well, please. What did you want, Belle?" He looked over at her across the table, silently hoping she would order _something_ , so he wouldn't have to eat by himself in front of her again.

She looked up from her menu, giving Dipper a wink. "I'll have the double, with swiss, and _extra_ onions," adding obvious emphasis to the extra. "Rare. I want it red inside. And the onions had better be raw." She giggled as she saw Dipper's mouth drop at her strange order.

"Anything to drink for either of you?" He kept his gaze on the beautiful girl.

"I'll just have water, with lemon. Please." Dipper glanced over to the blonde, wondering what strange thing she might order to drink.

"And for you, miss?" He couldn't help but stare deep into her blue eyes.

"Yes, you can bring me a rum and Pitt." The air of power in her voice was a bit startling to Dipper, but not quite as startling as what she had ordered. The waiter, however, never batted an eyelash at it.

"Right away, miss. I'll be back shortly." With a curt smile and nod, he turned on his heel and headed off.

"What... what just happened here?" Dipper asked with quite the look of confusion on his face. "Did you really just order a _rum_ and Pitt cola? You didn't even get carded!"

"Yeah, well... you know what they say about blondes, right? How we have more fun- or some such nonsense like that," she giggled. Sensing Dipper was not amused, however, she explained with more seriousness, "I could see that that man had very little, if not zero, confidence in himself, and was not about to question someone who voiced exactly what she wanted in a way that came across as strictly authoritative as I did. It's all about the delivery. If you sound sure of yourself, everyone else will be sure of you also."

"Yeah, but he's supposed to card anyone who looks younger than thirty, and you definitely don't look over thirty."

"What can I say? I guess I just have an effect on people," she said with a wink.

"I suppose so," Dipper replied, still a look of disbelief on his face. "So, I'm guessing you've done this before, then." It was a statement, not a question, and he could tell by her facial expressions he was correct. "Have you ever gotten caught?"

She let out a small snicker at that question before offering up her response. "I don't get caught, or carded, or questioned. People tend to take me at face value, meaning, they see me as either so confidant that they feel there's no need, or so authoritative that they're too scared to speak up. Most people are pretty fickle, and easy to read, so I know which tactic is best to use in any given situation."

Dipper contemplated that for a moment as he wondered if she thought of him as 'fickle'. He was almost always unsure of himself, but never thought he was a fickle person. He knew what he wanted most of the time, and would always follow through once making a decision. Changing his mind once it was made up almost never happened.

"Hm, I guess that works, if you're the more assertive type. That's not me, though. I don't think I could pull that off."

"Well, I could give you some tips, if you want. Personality types are changeable, you know. In fact, some people pay a lot of money to learn different personalities...it's called acting classes." Her warm smile graced her face and she suddenly reached her hand across the table, placing it on top of both of Dipper's that were absent-mindedly folded together on the table. Pink began to rise in his cheeks, but then she removed her hand suddenly, like she suddenly remembered he had a communicable skin disease or something. He didn't have time to wonder about it, though, as the waiter was suddenly at their table, placing their food and drinks down in front of them.

"Can I get you anything else?" He looked at Belle the whole time, not even acknowledging the teen boy once. After a polite "No, thank you" from the blonde, he nervously said, "Very well" while giving her a wink, a half-bow, and then discreetly dropped a small, folded piece of paper into her lap before quickly retreating to the other side of the restaurant.

Dipper caught on to what had just transpired and a look of disgust washed over him. "Wow, the creep doesn't even know if we're together or anything, and just assumes you would be interested." He quickly dropped the harsh tone when he realized he just said that out loud, and wasn't keeping it to himself. Now he was completely red. "Oh, gosh...I-I didn't mean to say that out loud. Of course, he has every right to do that, 'cause it's not like we're...you know." He ran his hands down his face, trying to keep his eyes from meeting hers.

Belle giggled a bit to herself before having to rescue him from his feelings once again. "You should be taking notes, you know." He gave her a confused look. "Lesson one in getting what you want- You need to actually try. And don't worry about what you said out loud. Your attitude was in the right place...assertive."

He gained back a bit of pride after hearing her say that, but then the confusion came back. "Wait. I thought you said earlier that this guy had, like, zero confidence?"

"Yes, I did say that. Well, _technically_ , I said he had very little, if not zero, confidence. It appears he has just a wee bit, after all. Or, perhaps a little of _my_ confidence rubbed off on him." She shrugged and eyed the food in front of her.

"Well, let's just eat, I guess. We can discuss this some other time." Dipper was a mix of feelings; confusion, frustration, anxiety, and probably a little bit of jealousy mixed in for good measure. He started to pick up his burger, but froze suddenly as the sight across the table caught his eye. Belle had begun to systematically dismantle her food. She removed both buns, gingerly placing them off to the side of the plate, then picked up her knife and fork and began cutting into the rest of the burger like it was a steak. Blood began to drain out of the meat, pooling in the center of the plate.

Dipper had to hold back wanting to throw up a little in his mouth. "Well, that certainly is rare. Is that really how you like your meat?" he questioned with eyebrows raised, whether in disgust or simple amazement, even he wasn't exactly sure.

"Mmm...yes," she answered simply. She said nothing more as she began to devour the food in front of her, not unlike a hungry predator that hadn't eaten in several days. There was nothing foul or deplorable about the way she ate, though. It was just, different. She was very efficient, and never once got any food on her face or her lap, even though blood dripped everywhere on the plate. Dipper watched her, fascinated by what he was seeing play out in front of him. He then realized he was staring and quickly went about starting his own meal. Seeing that he finally was getting started with his own food and no longer as interested in her, she looked at nothing in particular and began to speak. "See? I do eat...on occasion," she mused, giving a snarky face, but still not looking directly at him. "However, I am very particular about what I put into...well, this," she said, motioning to herself.

"You have something against bread?" Dipper couldn't help but put that out there, curiosity getting the better of him, and besides, she did bring it up, how particular she is with food, and he felt it to be an appropriate question.

"This _stuff_ ," she wrinkled her nose at the hamburger buns at the side of her plate, "is no more than over-processed simple carbohydrates. It offers absolutely nothing for the body, unless one wishes to load up on empty calories for the sole purpose of adding unattractive pounds. I suppose at one time in human history this may have been necessary for surviving the winter, but it certainly isn't needed now, at least not in this country, or at the very least not for me."

Dipper couldn't help but be fascinated by her reasoning and decided to prod just a bit more. "So, I was also a bit curious about the onions...raw? I mean, you like your meat practically raw, so it makes some sense, but...why?"

Belle internally sighed, _Typical human, doesn't even know what's good to be putting into his own meatsack. It's no wonder their average lifespan has dwindled down to less than a century in length. Well, I guess they can't all be like Methuselah. Yikes, maybe 900+ years isn't a good idea anyway, considering how efficient they've become at reproducing._ Smiling, she snapped out of her thoughts to answer his query. "Yes, raw is best. The more you cook something, the more you change its molecular structure, and the fewer nutrients you get out of it." She stopped suddenly to take a drink. Looking thoughtfully at the glass of sugar filled, carbonated water mixed with fermented sugar cane juice, she added, "But this," she paused to finish the drink down in one go, "...this is just a treat. It's always nice to treat yourself once in awhile, you know?" she winked at him, placing the glass back down on the table.

"Wow, I didn't suspect you to be the scientific type," Dipper responded, actually quite impressed with his new friend.

Belle eyed him with a look of slight contempt, although it was just a ruse, but she didn't want him to know that. "Not just a pretty face, am I." She was going to love his reaction.

Dipper's face turned red as he realized how bad his statement sounded, and now he was worried sick that she would think he was a sexist jerk. "N-no! I didn't mean...that came out wrong! Ugh." Not really able to actually explain himself in a way he felt was worthy, he just gave up, hoping she would just forget about it. He went back to picking at his food, his elbow on the table with his hand supporting his face, and a worried, almost pouty, look on his face.

The blonde across from him just giggled slightly to herself before saying in a low voice, "We definitely need to work on you."

They managed to make it back to the shack before their lunch hour was up, again, not surprising considering how fast Belle drove. Dipper didn't say much on the way back, reserving his thoughts to himself, blissfully unaware that the other could hear everything he thought. Belle was happy about how the day had gone, so far. She mainly thought about what her next step would be, in regards to getting back at the twins. She was sure things were going in the right direction with Pine Tree, and now needed to focus on getting friendlier with Shooting Star.


	6. Chapter 6 Girl Time

**Girl Time**

It was still early afternoon when Mabel flew into the shack, hands full of bags, no doubt for tomorrow's party. Eager to get on Mabel's good side, (although that wasn't really a difficult thing to do, considering Mabel loved absolutely everyone) Belle quickly followed after her, offering to help with anything she could. Mabel's face lit up at the offer and instantly accepted with a hearty "You betcha!" The two girls ran off into the kitchen, but as soon as Mabel set down her bags, she turned to find Dipper to let him know that Belle would be helping her for the rest of the day. Knowing it was pointless to argue with his sister, he waved her off to finish the tasks in the gift shop by himself. "Thanks bro-bro!" she yelled as she returned to the kitchen as fast as she could.

"So, should I clock-out first?" Belle questioned as Mabel slid into the kitchen, nearly kicking over some bags in the process.

"Naw, you're helping me during work time, so it's only fair. So how's your day been so far?Are you getting the hang of things yet?Do you like my brother?Working with him, I mean? Although, you could also tell me if you _like_ him like him..." She had strung all the questions together in one continuous line, only catching her breath once Belle decided to interrupt in the middle of it.

She quickly held up a hand as if to say 'halt'. "Whoa! Hold on there. If you're going to want any answers from me, you will to have to let me speak."

"Oh, yeah, I suppose you're right. I totally want answers! Guess I over did the Mabel juice this morning, sorry!"

 _Yep, that's the Shooting Star I remember._ Belle giggled as she took a seat at the kitchen table. "So, to answer your questions- So far, I would have to say that my day has been very productive, I am getting the hang of things, I do like working with your brother, and even though I haven't known him too long, I can truthfully say I harbor some pretty strong feelings toward him." _Like hate._

The small gleam in Mabel's eyes turned into fiery excitement as she could barely contain herself. "Oooh, this is so great!" she managed to squeak through the unnaturally big, tooth-filled smile that threatened to split her face in two. "I just _knew_ you guys would hit it off! Well, let's hurry and get all this stuff sorted through. You can fill me in on all the details while we work!"

After what seemed like hours to Belle (she still wasn't used to the passage of time in her current state, and thought she never would be), all the party goods were finally sorted out. Mabel had taken the time to carefully explain, in excruciating detail, what everything was, where she had gotten it, why she had chosen it, and what purpose it would serve. Even the things Belle found to be quite trivial, such as the plastic eating utensils, were given the utmost attention and respectfully doted over by Mabel.

"Well, I think that's it," she stated with almost an air of disappointment. Belle, on the other hand, couldn't be happier that they were finished with this task.

"Alright then, if you no longer need my help, I suppose I should be getting home." Belle knew Mabel would have none of that, though.

"Wha-? No! You have to stay and have dinner with us! Oooh! I know...I'll have Dipper cook! You're gonna love his spaghetti, and we can hang out in my room while we wait! Do you like 80's music? And boy bands? And stickers?" She continued non-stop with the questions as she practically dragged the poor blonde up the stairs to her shared room, not even waiting for any answers.

"Oh, uh, sure- I guess..." was all she managed to get out before Mabel had her arm locked in her own, pulling her out of the kitchen.

At the top of the stairs, Mabel realized she hadn't mentioned to Dipper her plans for the rest of the evening. She turned and yelled out, "Dipper!" No response. A little louder, "Dip-dop!" Still nothing. "HEY DIPSTICK!" she wailed at the top of her lungs, even causing Belle to flinch.

"Geez-uz, Mabel! Do you have to yell across the whole shack? You're gonna wake the dead or something!" her brother scolded from the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, like _you've_ never done that!" she retorted, rolling her eyes at him. Belle chuckled slightly at that.

Dipper suddenly noticed that Mabel wasn't by herself, and blushed when he realized that Belle had been there, front and center, for that whole exchange. "O-oh, you're still here? I-I thought you went home already. I clocked you out an hour ago, I hope you don't mind. But I can still pay you for that last hour, and if you're still helping Mabel-" An angelic voice cut him off.

"No, it's ok, Dipper, really. It's no big deal. I'm just going to hang out with your sister for a while, and she mentioned something about you making dinner." She smiled wide as she knew the anxiety was bubbling up in his gut. _Aaand three...two...one...cue the panic-_

"Wha- wait, she said _what_?! Mabel!" exclaimed the younger twin as he glared at his sister, now two shades of red darker than he was just a few seconds ago. He decided he wouldn't get truly mad at her until later, though. When they were alone. When there were no witnesses.

Mabel just beamed at him, unphased. "Yep! You're makin' spaghetti!" And with that, she spun around on her heel, grabbed Belle's arm, and dashed into her room.

 _Well this is just perfect!_ Dipper thought to himself, dragging a hand down his face. Feeling a mixture of defeat, betrayal, and self-pity, he turned to the kitchen to get started on what he hoped would be a presentable dinner.

Meanwhile, Belle had Mabel right where she wanted her. She would use their private time together to her utmost advantage, filling Mabel's head with things she knew she wanted to hear most. Girl-talk and gossip was at the top of that list, and Belle knew everything there was to know about what was going on in the minds of everyone in town. However, she knew she had to play up the fact that she was new in town, and, also knowing how she probably wouldn't get a word in edgewise through the other's incessant talking, she decided well-timed and generously loaded questions would be her best strategy at leading the conversation where she wanted it.. She focused mainly on the people who were closest to Mabel and Dipper, offering inquiring questions about not only their family and friends, but about the twins, themselves. Much to her delight, Belle found that Mabel was more than willing to talk about everyone without discretion, even spilling more than she needed to know about Mabel's past relationship failures.

After a few hours of chatting, listening to Mabel's favorite boy bands, and even giving each other make-overs, Dipper popped his head into the room, unannounced, to let the girls know that dinner was ready. He would soon regret the fact that he didn't knock first.

Mabel had convinced Belle that in order for her to get the "full Mabel make over experience" as she called it, she had to try on some of her outfits, and wouldn't take no for an answer when she found out that Belle didn't own even a single hand-made sweater. ("Didn't everybody?!") Belle gave in to what she thought to be an absurd request (which was actually more of a demand) with her only insistence being that it had to be mostly yellow or black in color. Mabel was more than happy to oblige, as she had a bountiful surplus of sweaters in lovely shades of yellow. It seems she could never give those ones away and was always politely turned down.

Belle was in the middle of pulling one over head to try on when Dipper popped in. "Din-" he stopped immediately, throwing his hands over his face and becoming frozen where he stood. "Ohmygosh! I-I didn't, I mean, sorry! I'm s-so sorry!" he stuttered through his hands.

"Well, if you were truly sorry, you wouldn't still be standing here, now would you," Mabel scolded playfully. "Gees, Dipping dots, you really should knock before entering a closed bedroom." She knew from prior embarrassing moments that Dipper's body would sometimes actually freeze up on him, not allowing him to move for several long seconds. It didn't keep her from torturing him for it, though.

Belle was thrilled to add a bit of fuel to Dipper's embarrassment by piling on some sarcasm of her own. "Oh, don't give your poor brother a bad time, I mean, I'm sure he didn't go out of his way to walk in at this particular moment. Besides, you two share a room together, so I have to think that he's seen a teen-aged girl in a bra before."

"Ye- N-no! I never- Ugh! Just...are you decent yet?!" True, he had inadvertently seen his sister in only a bra before, but that was when they were thirteen and Mabel had no sense of personal space or privacy. And he certainly didn't make a habit of looking at her now if she forgot about him being in the room. He hadn't, however, been in a situation such as this involving one of his sister's friends, and he was ignorant of how to handle it.

"Of course. I'm _always_ decent. Even with no shirt on." She smiled and looked at Mabel who could barely contain her giggles.

Dipper slowly removed his hands, not convinced that these girls could be trusted. When he finally regained some composure, he mumbled something about dinner being ready, and quickly turned and left the doorway. _Why, God? Why me?!_ he thought as he threw his face and hands skyward.

He managed to make it through the rest of the evening without any more embarrassments, much to his relief and Mabel's dismay.


	7. Chapter 7 That's Not All

**That's Not All**

Dipper couldn't sleep that night. His mind was racing with not only thoughts of the party he would have to endure the next day, but also of a certain blonde woman. He couldn't shake the mixed feelings he was having about her. Sure, she was beautiful, smart, funny, and seemed to like him, even though he still felt way out of her league and couldn't imagine why she would want to be with someone like him. But something deep down inside kept telling him there was something not right about her. Dipper was no stranger to the supernatural, and he certainly wouldn't think twice about a person in Gravity Falls having anything to do with the paranormal, but he couldn't let go of the weirdness surrounding this eccentric young woman who seemed out of place even in this town. Every little oddity and unexplainable thing she had said or done that he had dismissed over the last few days was beginning to eat at him. He had learned many years ago to listen to, and trust wholeheartedly, that feeling from his gut. He, of all people, knew that if something was too good to be true, then it definitely wasn't.

He thought back on their first encounter; how he had heard her say the name 'Bill'. He remembered their first physical contact when they shook hands and he felt that strong electrical current shoot through him, which she tried to easily dismiss as static electricity. _A little static shock has never made me want to throw up before._ He remembered the unsettling looks she gave him that first day, and how she hasn't looked at him that way at all since. He thought about how she was able to silently appear behind him, startling the crap out of him the other morning. _There's no way she could have done that and make absolutely no sound, not with those boots...and not on these squeaky floors._ He remembered the way she glanced at his to-do list for only a few seconds, yet knew exactly everything on it, and came up with a plan to get it all done in less than one lunch hour. He thought about her strange behavior in the restaurant; ordering alcohol and getting away with it, and her eating choices and habits, which, although strange, even he had to admit wasn't exactly paranormal. But it was still unsettling.

All of this Dipper contemplated, going over all the oddities in his head. What troubled him the most, though, by far, was the occurrence in the shop yesterday morning when the cornicorn figurine had fallen. _How did she know I was staring at her? Maybe it was that weird feeling we all get sometimes when we feel like we're being watched...but what she said just doesn't make sense. She knew exactly what fell, even though she couldn't possibly have seen it from where she was, and she even said she_ made _it fall in order to distract me. Why would she say that?_

And then there was the yellow. Everything she wore was yellow, if it wasn't black. Her car was yellow. She seemed obsessed with the color. _I'm surprised her fingernails aren't painted yellow. As it is, they are almost a glowing shade of blue. Almost like her fingertips were...little...blue...flames..._ Dipper's eyes widened and his heart rate picked up as he drew more of a visual semblance in his mind to the triangular nightmare of five years ago.

"I just know there's a connection to B _-_ " _._ He felt his throat tighten and mouth go dry. "A connection to Bi-..." He couldn't bring himself to say that name out loud, even if he was only whispering.

Dipper began to sweat under the blankets of his bed, and not because it was a warm summer night. He decided to get up and go for a walk, not too far, though, knowing he had a long day tomorrow. Ah, who was he kidding...he never slept well, anyways. It really didn't matter how long he would be out for.

He slipped on his clothes and shoes and quietly crept out of the room, keeping an eye on Mabel's sleeping form under the quilt on her bed. He really didn't want to wake her up. That would just turn into a hopeless, one-sided conversation about him and who he was thinking about that was causing him to not be able to sleep. As he sneaked around the door, quietly pulling it closed behind him, he heard a slight rustling come from Mabel's side of the room. He froze, holding his breath, hoping to God she didn't wake up. After a moment, he felt it was safe to continue and headed down the squeaky stairs as silently as he knew how.

Heavy feet stepped out into the stagnant night. The sky was clear. Stars shone brightly and the three-quarter moon was already prominent in its position amongst them, casting even more silvery sheen onto the landscape. It was still very warm, but the lack of wind and the humidity made the air heavy.

Dipper plodded down the porch stairs and began walking in the direction of his favorite spot in the surrounding forest. Walking around the woods was always his preferred activity when he needed to clear his mind, or just be alone. As the trees became thicker around him, Dipper's mind began to drift to the creatures that used to inhabit this area. He was kinda glad about not having any risk of running into the annoying gnomes, or any of the more dangerous monsters that could do him some serious damage. He wasn't exactly prepared to fight off anything, having no backpack or provisions with him.

Only a few minutes in, the teen came across a downed tree covered with soft moss. It was one of the spots he would often go to read or write in his journal in private. He smoothed the ground in front of it, kicking some pine needles and cones out of the way, then turned and sat on the cool forest floor, leaning up against the sturdy tree trunk. He pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs. A heavy sigh left his lips as he closed his eyes and tried to clear his overloaded mind.

Sounds of the night began to fill his ears as he sat quietly, and he welcomed the pleasant distraction. Somewhere nearby, a cricket skillfully rang out its song; a slow and steady chirp relaying a happy sound. Seconds later, another one joined in, and Dipper listened as they harmonized together. The steady rhythm lulled him into an almost trance-like state, his consciousness on the verge of slipping into deep sleep.

The crack of a large branch succumbing to an unbearable weight suddenly brought him back to full awareness. The very harsh, assaulting sound came from behind him. He slowly turned to find its origin, being careful to keep himself crouched behind the tree and only peeking over it. He craned his neck and squinted in the low light that filtered through the branches. His eyes widened as the cause of the noise came into focus. Only about ten yards away from him stood a familiar bear with several heads.

Dipper slowly got to his feet, keeping himself between the tree trunk and the creature. "M-multi bear?" he stammered, trying to sound confident, but failing miserably. "Where did you come from? I thought all the magical beings in Gravity Falls were gone?"

He stopped talking as soon as the creature stood up on its hind legs and began to move slowly towards him. He wasn't sure what to do as the bear wasn't moving in a threatening manner, but he still wanted to maintain a decent buffer between himself and the creature he hadn't positively identified yet. As it slowly came closer, Dipper could feel his adrenaline begin to shoot through his body. He could now see why it had not answered him. All the mouths of each head had been roughly sewn shut. Even more disturbing than that, there were only dark chasms where all of its eyes should have been.

Suddenly it stopped its advance a few yards short of a very nervous Dipper, and leaned against a large tree as if to rest and relieve the burden of walking. It then lifted one of its massive paws to the mouth of its prominent head. A single claw was lifted, the razor sharp tip gleaming in the moonlight. Using that one claw, it began to rip through the stitching keeping the mouth closed. The action was clearly painful as the bear winced and blood began to ooze from the torn stitches. "Di-phmnn..." it moaned, trying to acknowledge the boy's questions.

Before Dipper could even begin to sort out what he was seeing or hearing, a bright blue flame erupted on the ground around the bear. The blinding light stung his eyes and he could feel significant heat emanating from it, but he managed to squint through the brightness and ignored the heat as he refused to look away from the poor creature. The flames crawled up the matted brown fur until the bear was fully engulfed. Then, as suddenly as it came, the flames disappeared, leaving no trace of the bear. The ground where it had stood was perfectly intact, save for the impressions made in the dirt caused by two paws which had bore all the weight of the massive creature.

 _What the... What just happened?! This has to be a dream. Yeah, that's it...I'm just dreaming. There was no Multi-bear, no blue flames..._ He closed his eyes. _Wake up, Dipper. Just wake up already!_ He squatted down, placing his hands over his face, willing himself to wake up. _This isn't happening. It's all in my mind. I'd been dwelling on this too much tonight and I'm just succumbing to my sub-conscious. That's all..._ "THAT'S ALL!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, not realizing until it had escaped his mouth that he was, finally, fully awake.

A small cracking sound to his left caused him to nearly jump out of his skin. He quickly stood and squinted in the low light, trying to see what had caused the noise; that odd feeling of déjà vu rising up inside him. Another small crack and rustling of debris from the forest floor had Dipper readying himself to run in the opposite direction. But then, he heard a familiar voice, and the live-wire that was his sister came into view.

"There you are! Are you alright? I've been trying to find you but didn't know which way you had gone and then I heard you scream and I could finally tell which direction you went and..." she finally paused for a second but then immediately continued. "...Uhg! Why did you have to go off and scare me like that?! And the screaming! What's up with that?! Aaahh!" she shouted in order to let out the last of her frustration and worry. "Ok, I'm ok now...I think." She sat down on the fallen tree trunk, breathing heavily after having sprinted towards her screaming brother.

Dipper just sighed aloud, happy to see it was just his sister, and also upset that his sister had followed him out here. "Look, Mabes-" he was immediately interrupted.

"Are you hurt?Did something bad happen?Why are you even out here?Wha-" this time, Dipper quickly closed the short gap between them, slapping a hand over the mouth that wouldn't stop with the questions long enough for him to get a word in edgewise. He made a mental note of having to do that to her a lot lately.

"Mabel!" he scolded. "How am I supposed to explain if you never shut up?!" he declared before releasing his hold on her face. She just nodded, but was trembling in anticipation of what he would tell her.

"I'm fine. I just came out here because I couldn't sleep and needed to clear my head. I must have dozed off and had a bad dream," he explained, hoping beyond hope his sister would accept it and not pry too much.

No such luck...this was _Mabel_ , after all.

"So is that why you screamed? You were having a nightmare?" she asked, still very much concerned over the fact that her brother would wander out into the forest in the middle of the night, and fall asleep no less.

"Yes, yes. That's all, sis. You don't have to worry about me so much. I'm nearly an adult, remember?" He playfully nudged her with his elbow, giving her a sarcastic wink.

Mabel was still worried, though, the gears of her mind clearly mulling over something. "That's all.." she repeated, half under her breath. A confused look washed over her face. "That's what you said when you screamed. What does that mean, Dipper? What were you dreaming about?"

"Look, Mabel...I've tried before to talk to you about this particular concern, and you wouldn't listen to me. I just...I guess I was just dwelling on my thoughts too much tonight and they manifested into a very realistic dream that I was trying desperately to wake up from." He looked up to see a very melancholy look on his twin's face; regret and guilt starting to overcome his own. "I-I'm sorry, sis...I didn't mean-" He was cut off by Mabel's soft voice, the one nobody ever heard unless she was really upset.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. You're right. I never stop to let you explain what's bothering you, or really listen to your concerns. I'm too busy trying to blow off the serious stuff, or trying to make light of your problems, that now you won't even come to me when you need someone to talk to." She began to tear up, a drop spilling over out of the corner of her eye.

Dipper sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder. "It's ok, just...will you let me talk about it now? And _really_ listen to what is bothering me?"

At that, Mabel's face lit up. "Really?! You really want to talk to me about this? I promise, I'll listen intently and not rush to judgment and won't interrupt or anything!" Her giddiness was coming back, but Dipper knew she would not let it overtake her. He had faith that she knew she needed to take him seriously now, and would do what she said she would.

"Of course I want to talk to you about this, you're my _big_ sister." He knew that remark would bring a smile to her face, and it did. She gave him a face-splitting grin, pulling him into one of their famous awkward sibling hugs.

Dipper closed his eyes as he hugged her back, but immediately froze when he opened them and caught sight of the ground behind them. It was the same spot near the large tree where the Multi-bear had stopped advancing toward him in his dream, when he was watching from the other side of the fallen tree they were now sitting on. There, in the dirt of the forest floor, were two deep impressions that were clearly made from the paws of a massive creature. A massive bear, to be more precise.

"U-uh, Mabel?" he asked with fear in his voice as he continued to hold on to his sister.

"Yeah, Dip?" she replied casually. She hadn't noticed his fear.

"I was wrong. That's _not_ all..."


	8. Chapter 8 Can't Convince Her

**Chapter 8**

 **Can't Convince Her**

"Wha-" Mabel began to question her brother, but was suddenly pushed off the log and found herself being pulled frantically in the direction of the shack.

"We need to leave! Now!" Dipper yelled, the fear now very obvious to Mabel. His hand had a death grip on her wrist causing her to grimace from the sting of skin rubbing skin, but she soon caught pace with him, easing the painful sensation a little.

They ran out of the forest and didn't stop until reaching the porch of the shack. Dipper hopped the steps, flung the door open, and pushed his sister inside, slamming the door shut behind them. They both doubled over, leaning on their knees for support as they struggled to catch their breath. Mabel, being in a bit better shape than her brother, was the first to find her voice.

"What...the hell...was that...all about?!" she exclaimed through her panting.

She glanced up to see a very pale-faced Dipper still struggling to calm his breathing. He was prone to getting panic attacks, and with his heart rate so high and labored breathing already a problem, she was worried about an episode hitting him right here and now. _Better calm him down before all the questioning..._ she thought to herself as she reached over to rub his back in a soothing motion.

"Shhh...it's ok, we're ok now. We're safe here... Dipper?" She continued to try to calm him down as he slowly began to breath normally again. He stood up straight, took one look at Mabel's worried face, and decided he needed to sit down. They both needed to sit down.

"W-we need t-to sit. Here...let's g-go into the kitch-kitchen." He stumbled over his words, and his feet, as he made his way into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for himself and his sister.

Mabel knew this was serious. Dipper hadn't stuttered this badly, outside of talking to girls (herself not included), since they were little. She took a seat across from him and waited for him to speak first. At this point, she was pretty much at a loss for words, which was very rare for the older twin.

Dipper nervously rubbed the back of his neck, trying to organize his thoughts into what would be the most informative, but least insane sounding, dialogue. He decided he had better explain what happened in the forest, first. It made the most sense, after all, considering they had just come from there and Mabel would be wanting an explanation for why they ran.

He took a deep breath. "I went out to clear my head. I couldn't sleep, and it was the only thing I could think to do. I went to a spot I like to go to sometimes when I need to be alone and I must've dozed off or something. I had a nightmare. At least, I think I was dreaming. It was very real, but I remember waking up when I screamed."

Mabel looked at him, concerned, wanting to say something, anything, but respectfully refrained.

"I saw Multi-bear. Well, I'm pretty sure it was Multi-bear. There's only been one bear in Gravity Falls that I know of with multiple heads. He came slowly towards me and then stopped and leaned against a tree. He looked horrible, Mabel...I can't even imagine how it happened..." He paused for a long moment, staring down at the table, almost seeming like he couldn't continue.

Mabel reached out with her hand to comfort him, patting his arm gently to remind him she was there for him and would patiently wait for him to continue.

"Mabel...his eyes were- were _gone_. But not just gone, it was like they had been gouged out... _all of them_. And that's not all. His mouths, they had all been..." he drew in another deep breath, "...sewn shut."

Mabel's eyes grew wide with disgust as she listened to the gruesome details her brother supplied about what he had witnessed. When he got to the part about the bear trying to rip through the stitches to try to speak to him, causing blood to flow down his face, she nearly had to excuse herself because she felt like she was going to puke. Dipper caught on to his sister's discomfort with the conversation and paused to give her a break.

"Sorry, Mabes. I know it's gruesome, but I need you to know how serious this all is. I think Multi-bear was trying to tell me something...like a warning, almost. He was just about to speak when he became engulfed in flames and disappeared. And they weren't normal flames. They were blue."

"So the flames were blue, what is that supposed to mean?" Mabel questioned.

"Bill!" he forced out rather loudly, causing his sister to jump a bit in her chair. "He's behind this, I just know it!"

He hadn't meant to blurt out that name. It just…happened.

"But it was all just a dream, Dipper, wasn't it? And besides, we defeated Bill years ago. He's gone. Grunkle Stan and Ford...they promised we were rid of him."

Mabel's voice was laced with uncertainty; something her twin had picked up on, but tried not to think too much about. She was supposed to be the optimistic one, the one whose resolve for positive thinking would never falter.

"I don't think it was a dream, Mabel. The reason why I had us run from the forest was because I saw the paw prints. After the flames dissipated, there were only paw prints left in the dirt where he stood. When we were hugging on the log, I was facing the direction where I saw Multi-bear in my dream, and when I looked at the ground...they were actually there."

Mabel's face paled. "So it _wasn't_ a dream, then?"

"I'm thinking it wasn't. I don't think it was exactly real, though, either."

"What the heck does that mean?!" Mabel was purely confused now, forgetting about how scared she was just a second ago.

Dipper always did marvel at his sister's ability to change emotions rather quickly, even if it was a bit mentally tiring for him to keep up sometimes.

"It means that it really happened, but not in our reality. It may have been that my mind crossed over into a parallel plane of existence through a dream, or something like that. I'm not sure. All I know is that the paw imprints were really there, and I think I'm supposed to take the whole weird episode as a message, or as a warning of some sort."

"Whoa… This is very strange, but what kind of message or warning is it?" Mabel still looked confused, but at least she wasn't flat out dismissive of what her brother had said.

"Like I said, I think Bill might be involved somehow. It seemed like the Multi-bear was trying to tell me something but was consumed by the blue fire before he could get anything out. It was like he was being silenced," Dipper said solemnly.

"Well, I see why you wanted to run now. So, why were you out there, anyways, this late at night? You know that's not a very good idea. I know all the supernatural creatures and monsters are gone, but there are also wolves and mountain lions to worry about!"

She had taken on the chastising tone of an over-protective parent. Dipper got a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. Something told him his sister's attitude was beginning to veer from concerned to condemnatory.

"Yeah, I know. It wasn't a very smart thing to do. I get it. But I told you, I couldn't sleep. And here's the weird thing: I had been going over all the things in my mind about Belle that seemed to be, well, odd in nature. I couldn't help but think that she, somehow, has some sort of connection with Bill..." he trailed off as his mind quickly tacked on another similarity- their names. "Oh, man! I didn't even think of that one."

"Think of what one?" his sister queried.

"The fact that their names are so similar!"

"Oh, come on Dip, that's a bit of a stretch, even for you."

Dipper went on to lay out all the things he had thought about earlier that night; the oddities and unbelievable things about Belle. By the time he was done, Mabel was hardly convinced, saying all he had was strange coincidences and circumstantial evidence, at best. Needless to say, Dipper was extremely disappointed in his sister's skepticism.

He was clearly deflated. "Well, I knew this would be a waste of time. You still don't take me seriously."

"No! That's not it, it's just that it seems like you are _wanting_ there to be a connection, like you're looking specifically for it. I'm sorry, Dip. I just don't see it."

"So you think I just made up the paw prints, too?"

"No, I believe you! It's just...I don't see a connection with Bill, that's all. I'm sorry, bro-bro. Please don't be mad."

Mabel was genuinely distraught over the situation, but her distress was directed at her brother's state of mind, and not over the events Dipper had been discussing with her for the last half hour. He knew his sister well enough to know that for a fact.

Dipper decided he had heard enough. He knew he wouldn't be getting anywhere with his sister, at least not tonight. He knew it wouldn't do him any good to argue with her. That would only upset her and ruin her party.

"Don't worry about it, Mabes. I'll just put it all on the back burner. I'm tired. I'm gonna try to go to sleep now. We have a big day tomorrow and I don't want to look like I haven't slept. Ok?" he said as he yawned and slowly raised from his chair, being careful to not squeak the legs on the floor.

"Thanks. I just want you to be happy and have a good time tomorrow."

She could see her brother still looked a bit forlorn, but decided to leave it alone for tonight. It was late, and there was a lot to do in the morning. She climbed the stairs back to their room, Dipper following close behind. They each went to their respective sides of the room, not even bothering to change, and dropped into bed. Neither had trouble falling asleep.

 **Yes, I know this one is short. I should've combined it with the last one, but wanted to get chapt. 7 out earlier. Next one should be longer.**

 **To answer a reviewer's question: We're soon getting to the part of the story I originally wrote over three months ago…the part where Belle reveals who she really is to Dipper and her intentions. That will probably come out after chapt. 9, but no promises! This story was never really planned out, so it kinda has a mind of its own. But it will be soon…promise!**

 **Thank you to those who have commented. It really does help.**


	9. Chapter 9 Countdown

**Countdown**

*9:16 am- Mystery Shack, upstairs bedroom. 7 hours, 44 minutes until party time.*

"HOLY CRAP DIPPER!" the shrill voice rang out through the small room.

Poor Dipper shot up in utter fear at the sound of his sister's screaming. He was wrapped up in his sheet, and the attempt to stand up failed horribly causing him and his tangled limbs to stumble onto the cold, hard floor. Now totally disoriented and sporting a bruised elbow from the harsh impact with the wooden floorboards, he decided it would be safest to stay put where he was, choosing instead to look around and figure out what was happening from the safety of the ground. He spotted his sister frantically going through her closet, throwing things this way and that.

"Mabel...what the hell?!" he managed to get out through his hands rubbing down his face. "What's with the screaming? I thought you were dying or something!" he exclaimed in groggy exasperation.

The frantic twin never stopped what she was doing, actually picking up the pace at which she moved.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?!" she yelled.

Dipper knew better than to try and answer that. He just sat there and listened to Mabel carry out the next few statements without even stopping to breathe, let alone wait for a response from him.

"We overslept!It's after nine already!We were supposed to be up at eight!We've already lost an hour!Dangit!Where's my shoes?!"

When it was finally quiet for more than a full second, Dipper thought he should finally say something to calm her down.

"Mabe-" he started, only to be immediately interrupted. _Nope, not yet, I guess._

"Dipper!" she scolded. "Why are you just sitting there?! C'mon! We need to move, move, move!"

"I-" He was hit in the face with a clean t-shirt and some socks.

"Here, put those on for now with your jeans from yesterday, I don't want you getting your suit dirty or wrinkled, so you can't put it on until just before we leave, and make sure you- Oh!" she exclaimed as she actually interrupted her own sermon. She looked her brother over, scrutinizing every inch. "Um, you need to shower and all that first," she said while giving him that 'you're filthy' look that he has come to recognize from her over the years.

He looked up at her, pure exhaustion in his face. "Can I talk now, _mom_?" he stated with sarcasm. She just rolled her eyes at his remark. He did kinda mean it, though. She had become rather motherly, the older they got.

"You are over reacting, Mabes. Calm down. We'll get everything done on time, I promise. Look...I'm getting up and moving toward the bathroom..." he declared as he untangled himself from the heap of bedding on the floor. _Ugh...this is going to be a very long day..._

*10:02 am- Mystery Shack, kitchen. 6 hours, 58 minutes until party time.*

Mabel had calmed down enough to get a decent breakfast made while Dipper showered and got ready for the day. She had already warned him while he was in the shower that they most likely wouldn't have time to eat for the rest of the day until the party, so he had better fill up on breakfast.

When he strolled into the kitchen, he was greeted with a buffet of food on the counter: scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, toast. It was a veritable feast. He was about to comment on her over doing it, but then remembered their (or rather just Mabel's) brief conversation through the door of the bathroom.

While he filled is mouth with enough sustenance to get him through until the party, he also worked on mentally blocking out the events of the previous night. He promised his twin that he would not bring it up today, and he was going to make good on his word.

 _Ok, Dipper. We're just gonna get through this day without incident...be helpful and happy and supportive and..._ But there she was. The image of the beautiful blonde girl crept into his thoughts, along with a certain fiendish triangle. He couldn't help but think they were laughing at him, mocking him. He shoved the thought away as far as he could. _Nope, not doin' this to Mabel... It's my birthday, too, dammit! I am going to have fun..._

The slam of a cupboard door jolted him back to awareness of the happenings in the kitchen. Mabel had noticed.

"You ok, bro-bro? You're not dwelling on what happened last night, are you?" she politely questioned. She didn't want to rile him up, but wanted to make sure he wasn't letting his _issue_ affect him, either.

"Yeah...no, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something else, it's nothing...really."

Mabel looked at him, not sure she believed him, but was not going to press him today. She had too much to do to get their party ready. "Alrighty then!" she beamed. "Let's do this! SOOS! We need to load up your truck now!" she yelled down the hall. Soos' room wasn't that far, but she felt the need to be that loud, anyways.

"Comin' dudes!" Soos called back from behind his closed door.

He emerged from his room holding the keys to his truck. He didn't use it very often, opting to use the shack's golf cart if he needed to go anywhere, but it did come in handy when the need arose. And there was definitely a need now with all the party stuff that needed to be hauled into town.

*11:40 am- Gravity Falls Banquet Hall, main room. 5 hours, 20 minutes until party time.*

"Ok, we have three hours to make this place look perfect!" Mabel exclaimed as she started handing out job assignments to all available hands. She had recruited her two best friends, Candy and Grenda, and along with herself, Dipper, and Soos, there were plenty of able bodies to get everything done.

Just as Mabel was getting ready to load the glitter canons (there were four that would be strategically placed so as to maximize coverage when they went off), she heard the tell-tale sound of metallic heels clicking against the tile floor behind her, swiftly getting closer.

An angelic voice politely asked, "Do you guys need any extra help?"

Mabel whirled around and found herself face to face with a pair of deep blue eyes. "Oh, hey Belle! Of course! That's so awesome of you to offer. You know, I think Dipper could use the most help..." she suggested with a wink.

"Right," she agreed with a smile as she scanned the hall. She heard Mabel's thoughts and knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. The brunette was about to say it out loud, but Belle had already started off in the right direction. Mabel just shrugged and went back to her glitter canons.

Dipper was in a smaller adjoining room near the kitchen, knee-deep in a sea of color when Belle found him. His back was to the door and he was sitting on a tall stool, a small table next to him with piles of flat balloons in every different color available. An air compressor that he was using to inflate them was turned on. Although it was quite small, it was still rather loud, and he never heard the blonde enter the room. Well, she would have made sure he didn't hear her even without the loud device running. Sneaking up on him was becoming one of her favorite past times.

Closing the door gently behind her, she slowly waded through the balloons until she was right behind him. She slowly snaked her deceptively small arms around his waist, getting a solid hold on him and giving a firm hug while at the same time whispering slowly in his ear, "Happy birthday, cutie."

Dipper let out a girlish shriek and a very loud, "Holy shhhh-" he stopped halfway through the curse word he so desperately wanted to use when he caught sight of glowing blonde hair in the corner of his eye. "...oot!" he finished.

He quickly stood, cheeks flushed and heart pounding in his chest, but the blonde didn't release her hold on him. She let up just enough to allow him to turn around and face her, and as soon as he did, she planted a little peck on his nose, her sultry blue eyes staring deeply into his stunned browns.

Immediately, she let him go and backed away, still sporting a mischievous grin. Her hands were folded behind her back as she gently twisted her hips back and forth, portraying that innocent school-girl look. She decided to not say anything, letting him stand there awkwardly as he pondered what just happened. Seeing that she was just going to stand there and stare at him, the flustered teen took a deep breath and spoke up.

"Um...Yeah, ok... W-what...what, exactly...aaaah, gees." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck and took another deep breath. "Yeah...you just stand there looking all innocent. You scared the heck outta me, you know that!?" he declared, feigning annoyance.

"Oh, yes. I'm quite aware of that. Haven't I told you before that you are too cute when you get startled?" she giggled.

"A-actually, I think you said that about when I'm nervous."

"Somebody _has_ been paying attention. Can't get anything by you, can I," she said playfully.

Any and all thoughts Dipper may have been dwelling on last night were all but forgotten at this moment. He couldn't even remember why he had been upset with his sister last night. All he could think about was the attention this beautiful young lady was giving him.

"Nope, I guess not. So, are you here to help me? Or just put me in an early grave?" he laughed.

 _Don't tempt me, Pine Tree._ "Of course I'm here to help. In fact, I'm quite offended that I wasn't called upon to help out in the first place. I know how inefficient you can be at getting things done, so I figured I had better show up so your party will start on time." She used the most sarcastic tone she could come up with, although she was quite serious about the inefficient part.

"Well, we didn't want to bother you, seeing as this is your day off and all. But, since you insist, I guess you can help me."

Belle just nodded and got to work.

(Several hundred inflated balloons later~)

Dipper looked down at the empty table, relieved to not see any more colorful stacks.

"I can't believe we got all those done. Thanks so much for all your help. You really didn't-"

"I know, I know. I don't _have_ to," she said as she turned toward the door of the room. "Don't worry, I only ever do what I want."

She glanced back at Dipper, gave him a wink and a sly smile, and proceeded to open the door to leave. Before she could open it enough to leave, however, a firm arm shoved it closed again. Although she hadn't seen it coming (it was a split second decision on Dipper's part so she hadn't heard him thinking about it), she did not flinch in surprise. She stood, still facing the door, not knowing what was going to happen next. Dipper's mind was racing at full speed, and she could not make sense of anything he was thinking. There was really no time to try to make sense of them, anyway, as Dipper quickly whirled her around by her waist and then put his arms up against the door, effectively trapping her where she stood.

A none-too-amused blonde stared into the rich mocha eyes of the brunet; a look that would normally have had the boy shaking with nerves. But he held fast, never wavering and barely breathing as he readied himself to do something he had never done before.

"Now _I'm_ going to do something _I_ want," he averred.

He quickly leaned in, unhesitating, and pressed his lips on hers. Closing his eyes, he melted against the physical softness and warmness that met him in return, but then instantly broke contact when he opened them again. He was sure that she would be accepting of his advance, or, in the very least, happy that he was showing some assertiveness and confidence for once. What he saw, instead, was an emotionless look on the face of someone who seemed to always show how she felt.

Belle was completely caught off guard by what had just transpired. The kid she knew to be a somewhat awkward and very nervous teen had just taken control, asserted himself, and even managed to _kiss_ her. _And I never saw it coming... Huh, guess I'm kinda proud of him._

Every ounce of confidence Dipper had was instantly gone. His face paled as his mind now raced with thoughts of what he had done wrong. His legs began to feel weak, like they would no longer sustain him. Betrayed by his emotions draining his physical strength, he stumbled backward through the rainbow-colored sea of orbs, managing to find the stool and gratefully allowing it to give him the support that his own legs were denying.

"Uh...I-I'm so-sorry, Belle... I-I don't know why... I just... I thought...u-um..." his throat felt like it was going to close up on him. He desperately wanted to find the nearest rock and crawl under it, never to emerge again. He threw his hands over his face so he wouldn't have to see the blank expression still plastered on hers.

"Stop apologizing," she whispered. Dipper pulled his hands away from his face. "Why did you do that?" she questioned, a bit louder this time.

"I-I don't know...I should never have-"

"No, not that. I meant why did you apologize? You got what you wanted, right? So what is there to be sorry about?!" she proclaimed with evident annoyance.

"Oh, well, the look on your face scared me. I mean, your eyes were open and you seemed to have no feeling about it whatsoever, so I thought maybe you were mad or upset with me or something. Just because I wanted it, that doesn't give me the right to continue if you don't. So, I guess I'm sorry for doing something you clearly weren't into," the still flustered teen replied.

Now it was Belle's turn to have racing thoughts. She had never been in a situation like this before, so she wasn't sure exactly how she was supposed to react. The kiss was nothing to her. She didn't possess feelings of love or joy or happiness. Those were emotions she had to act out, and she clearly was not ready for them. _Guess I'll have to work on that. What does having my eyes open have to do with anything, though?_

"Well, I was surprised...that's all. I didn't expect you to learn so fast."

Dipper's brow furrowed. " _Learn_?"

"Assertiveness. Getting what you want. You know, like we talked about at lunch yesterday. I'm actually kind of proud of you," she said with a smile.

Before Dipper could say anything else, she opened the door and quickly left. He was alone with his thoughts, and was now even more confused than ever.

*3:17 pm- Mystery Shack, upstairs bedroom. 1 hour, 43 minutes until party time.*

The twins and Soos had just gotten home from the hall so that they could dress themselves for the party. Mabel handed Dipper his suit, to which he wrinkled his nose.

"Ah, quit yer poutin'! You're gonna look adorable!"

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Actually, more like _adorkable_ ," she said as she mussed his hair. "Oh, hey... somewhere in that stack is something a certain _somebody_ gave me to give to you. Wink, wink!"

As he stared down at the pile of clothing in his arms, thinking about how weird his sister was because she actually said "wink" out loud as well as doing it, he suddenly became very curious as to what could be hiding in it.

"Well, what is it?" he questioned impatiently.

"I don't know! It's wrapped. Get going and find out why don't you!" She hurried off, dress in tow over her shoulder, to get ready herself.

In his room, Dipper set the pile on his bed. He picked up the jacket and laid it to the side. Next was the vest, then the button up shirt, both which he carefully unfolded and laid off to the side. Under the shirt was a small, rather flat, box. It was wrapped in a gold foil paper and was not unlike the type of box a piece of jewelry might come in. There was piece of folded paper attached to it. The teen opened it and read: _Get dressed first, and then open me._

"Hm, that's odd," he thought aloud. He shrugged, put the box on his dresser, and proceeded to dress in the suit Mabel was making him wear.

It was a simple suit, really; nothing super fancy like a tuxedo, but it still made him uncomfortable, nonetheless. It consisted of black slacks, a crisp white linen shirt, a black vest with dark grey silken thread woven vertically in a sharp angular zig-zag pattern, and a black, slim-fit, one button jacket.

He checked the full-length mirror on the inside of the bedroom door to make sure everything was on properly and in place. Satisfied, he grabbed the box from his dresser and opened it. He picked up what appeared to be a black and gold length of ribbon. He held it up, letting it unfold towards the floor. It was wider on each end than the rest of it.

 _This looks like a...bow tie?_ Puzzled, he took it to Mabel who immediately confirmed that it was, indeed, a bow tie.

"Oooh, this is a nice one, too. Silk, with some kind of metallic gold thread weaved throughout," she said with a reverent tone. "Here, I'll help you put it on."

After she finished, she stepped back and took in the full sight of her brother. She raised her eyebrows a few times and whistled. "Dang bro-bro, you are lookin' fi-ine!"

"Thanks," he blushed. "You look great, too."

*4:24 pm, Mystery Shack parking lot. 36 minutes until party time.*

"Dipper! We gotta go!" Mabel yelled from the front door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Dipper yelled back as he sauntered down the stairs.

With a slight curtsy and horribly forced British accent, Mabel proclaimed, "Our party awaits, Sir Dippingsauce."

"After you, my fair Lady Mabelton," the younger twin replied, in an equally horrible accent, as he opened the door for his sister and gave an over exaggerated outstretched arm.

They both laughed at each other's silliness.

"See? This is not going to be so bad. You're having fun already!" chirped the older twin.

 _Yeah, but we haven't left yet..._ Dipper thought. He would do this, though. _For Mabel,_ he sighed to himself.

The siblings, along with a dressed-nicer-than-usual Soos, climbed into the truck and headed back into town.

It was finally party time.


	10. Chapter 10 Wicked Game

**Chapter 10**

 **A/N** _ **This chapter is titled after the Chris Isaak song of the same name. If you already know it, you probably already have chills, and if not, you soon will. Seriously, tho, I highly suggest playing said song when the time comes, or now...whenever, really. It's a very powerful and emotional song, and knowing how it goes will add depth to understanding the 'feels' I'm trying to portray. Also, much longer chapter than usual, though I doubt that is cause for complaint from anyone. Anywho, you've been warned...bring on the feels.**_ **o_o**

 **Wicked Game**

There were already a lot of people at the hall when the three of them arrived. Practically the whole town had been invited, so that wasn't a surprise. There would probably be many more as the evening went on. Candy and Grenda had arrived a bit early so the twins didn't have to worry about opening it up and setting out food and drinks for the guests.

The DJ was already playing loud 80's pop songs, as that was Mabel's requested bulk for the night's music. Bright lights lit up the large room, and, of course, a big disco ball spun above the middle of the designated dance floor. There were colorful decorations plastered everywhere. You wouldn't know what the color of the walls was supposed to be. Mabel and her friends made sure every square inch of surface was covered. The hundreds of balloons were encased in a long sheath of plastic that ran the length of the center of the room. It was rigged with a rope that could be pulled to release them all at precisely the right time.

The twins went inside, greeting guests and saying more 'thank yous' than they cared to count for all the 'happy birthdays' they got. Dipper kept looking around the large room, as if he was looking for a specific someone.

"Don't worry, Dippin' Dots, she'll be here soon," Mabel beamed as she elbowed his side.

"Wha-? I'm not... I was just- Oh, forget it," he mumbled, clearly defeated.

"Just remember to have _fun_ tonight, ok? This is your party, too."

"Yeah, I know."

The twins went about mingling with the guests, engaging mostly in small talk with simple subjects. Most wanted to know how they liked living in Gravity Falls now, permanently. Some asked about their Grunkles; if they were still off on adventures, and if they were planning on coming home soon.

Polite chit-chat soon grew old, though. Dipper decided he needed a bit of space after talking with so many different people, so he excused himself from his current conversation, grabbed a Pitt Cola from one of the many coolers stashed around the hall, and headed towards one of the side exit doors. Mabel caught sight of her brother heading in that direction and abruptly cut him off before he could push the door open.

"Hey bro-bro!" she exclaimed as she eyed him suspiciously. "Where ya goin'?You weren't planning on skipping out were you?Cuz if you were I'm gonna have to drop ya right here where you stand!" She was poking him in the chest for the duration of this most recent sermon.

"Knock it off, Mabel! I was just stepping outside to get some air and take a break from chatting with people. Sheesh! You know I can't handle this social stuff as easily as you," Dipper sighed.

"O-kaaay," she sang. "But don't be too long, we're going to start games soon!"

She was still sporting a look that told the younger twin to not even dare try to run out on her as she turned around and went back to mingling. Dipper couldn't help thinking it was an awfully harsh glare. _Dang, I told her I wasn't going to do that. The heck got her so uptight...and why would she think I would even do that to her after promising not to?_ "Humph...girls. Must be hormones or something," he mused under his breath as he slipped out the door and into the fresh outside air.

He turned to his left, heading in the direction of the rear parking lot. He remembered seeing a bench outside near the back earlier. As he rounded the corner of the building, he felt a slight vibration from his phone in the back pocket of his pants. _Who the heck could that be? Everyone in town is here, and mom and dad already called earlier to say happy birthday..._ He set the can of soda on the ground near the bench and pulled out his phone before slumping into the wooden slats.

He slid the lock screen aside to reveal a text from an unknown source waiting for him. It was private, so he couldn't even see what the originating number was. _Hm, weird,_ he thought to himself as he pressed a single finger to the face of the phone. The message simply read:

 _Look behind you._

He turned his head over his right shoulder, and, sure enough, a smiling blonde woman was standing no more than two feet away, hands behind her back in innocence. The brunet startled only a little this time since he was used to being snuck up on by now, and also the text was a bit of a warning.

 _Aaand she's wearing a black coat in the middle of summer. That's not odd. Not at all._ "Oh, hey!" he exclaimed nervously as he politely stood. "I wasn't sure you were coming..." He rubbed the back of his neck, not really sure how to properly greet her after their previous encounter that day.

 _Ok, affection...gotta show some affection,_ Belle thought. _This should work._ She smiled as she closed the short distance between them, giving him a short kiss on the cheek and a brief, but warm, embrace.

That did make him feel better. At least he felt more at ease, anyway.

"Of course I was coming. Why wouldn't I?" she questioned as she broke contact and stepped back a pace. "Although, I never did get an _official_ invitation, you know. But it's ok, I did get a verbal invite from your sister. Good enough, right?" she mused as she began to open up and slip off the full-length trench coat she was wearing.

"Yeah, works for- ..." Dipper gasped as he took in the stunning beauty in front of him. "...m-me."

It wasn't your typical, cliché, little black dress, and the way she wore it was anything but typical. The black color was deeper than any black he'd ever seen. It seemed to flow from even the slightest of movements, almost as if it wasn't a solid fabric but more like a liquid. The fluidity played with his vision, causing the already rosy teen to lock his eyes on it; much like an optical illusion you couldn't look away from. Her golden hair seemed to glow even more than usual in contrast with the darkness of the dress. A black choker was around her neck, adorned with a little black bow-tie in the center. It seemed to be made of the same piece of material as his own, as it was identical, just smaller.

 _Like what you see there, ay Pine Tree?_ "So, what are you doing out here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be in _there_?" she questioned, pointing a thumb at the building they were now both standing behind.

"Ugh, yeah," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I just needed to get some fresh air so I stepped outside for a minute. All the socializing was gettin' to me a bit."

"Right. Not the social type. Well, I could sit out here with you if you want."

"Sure. That'd be great." He motioned to the bench and they both sat down. Belle held her folded jacket in her lap. "Do you want me to take care of that for you?" he asked, holding his hand out to take the jacket. When she didn't answer him right away he added, "I mean, I'll take it to your car for you. S-so you don't have to carry it around everywhere."

"No, it's ok," she finally answered. "I didn't bring my car. I'm sure there's somewhere to hang it up inside."

"Oh," Dipper said, surprised. "You mean- you actually _walked_ here? I thought you lived pretty far out from the center of town."

"Mhm. I do," she answered matter-of-factly. "Cars are not the only method of transport you know." She smiled coyly at him.

"Yep, suppose you got me there," he replied, a little embarrassed that he hadn't thought of all the other means of getting around this small town. "Well, I could put it in Soos' truck, then."

"If it's that important to you, then, by all means...here you go," she said in a playful manner, handing over the jacket like it was a delicate treasure.

Dipper got up and jogged over to where the truck was parked. He unlocked it with the extra key Soos let him keep on his own key ring, for those rare occasions Dipper might need to use it but Soos wasn't around. This was one of those rare occasions he was glad to have it so as to not have to hunt down Soos in the large room full of people.

He leaned inside and laid her jacket out neatly on the seat, taking care not to wrinkle it. For reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on, he decided to run his hand over the length of the jacket, almost as if trying to feel for something that may have been hidden within any pockets.

 _Hmm, nothin',_ he thought to himself as he concluded the jacket held no hidden contents. _Gees Dipper, what are you doing..._ he berated himself for his actions. He was a bit curious, though. He thought about where she could possibly have her phone, since she did just text him. Thinking about what she was wearing, his imagination couldn't come up with anyplace she could stash it on herself without it being obvious. Shaking his head, he decided it was none of his business and suppressed the thought as he backed away from the inside of the truck cab and reached for the door to close it.

As soon as the door closed, he saw her. He nearly jumped as high as the hood of the truck. There she was, casually leaning up against the fender, picking at her fingernails, like she was waiting for a bus.

"Geez-us!" he cried. "Why are you always doing that to me?! And how-," he looked down at her metallic heels, "How do you not make any noise in those?!"

She giggled at his frustration. "Because it's fun, and your reactions are hilarious," she replied. "Maybe you should be asking _yourself_ how it is that you get so wrapped up in your thoughts that you can't hear what's going on around you," she winked, still giggling from his reaction.

Dipper laughed. He laughed hard at himself; at his clear paranoia that people around him had spoken of several times over his 18 years of life. _Well, if they went through what_ I _did five years ago-_ he tried to justify himself, but then remembered, _...Oh, right, the whole town_ did _go through that. Well, everyone else can easily forget, but I can't._ _Ugh, get a grip, Dipper. Just go, have fun, be with this gorgeous girl who actually wants to be with you..._

A soft hand on his wrist snapped him out of his thoughts. "I didn't mean for you to have that conversation with yourself _now_ ," she smiled as she tugged him gently away from the truck and in the direction of the hall.

"Um, what?" he said nervously, the thought that this woman was able to actually hear his thoughts creeping in on him again.

Belle obviously picked up on this right away and quickly came back with, "You looked like you were pondering my statement rather deeply there for a moment. I was just being facetious, you know."

"Right. Yeah, I-I'm sorry, I just get worked up over-" he interrupted himself, inwardly reprimanding his stupid need to fully explain himself all the time. "You know, it doesn't even matter. Let's just go inside and have ourselves a great time. How's that sound?"

He stopped to look at Belle's beautiful face, genuinely wanting to go have a nice time with her, and figuratively threw every shred of insecurity he had out the window. She gave him a reassuring smile, which he took as affirmation to his question, and cupped her face in both of his hands, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

The show of affection, not to mention the confidence displayed by the boy, caused her to feel strange. She had felt it once before, also, when he kissed her earlier that day. She tried not to think any more of it as she forced herself to focus on something else, like feelings she was greatly familiar with. _Anger. Hate. Revenge._ But her mind kept wandering back to this new feeling. _Warmth, acceptance, lo-_ _Whoa! Stop right there, Cipher. Don't even go there. You know those emotions are not real for you. It's only a side effect to this form. Damn myself for making it so...so vulnerable!_

She was glad Dipper had quickly turned away and kept walking them toward the building, as she was sure her face would have given away the conflict in her thoughts, making the boy suspicious of her once again. She would do this. She _had_ to do this. _Playing along is what needs to_ _be_ _done. Can't hurt to use those acting skills of mine I've boasted about AND have fun in the process..._

Back inside, the two caught sight of Mabel just grabbing the mic from the DJ and starting to announce something. A Madonna pop song had just ended, and something similar was about to take its place when the DJ abruptly stopped it and began searching for a different song.

"Hey everyone! I know this is an upbeat crazy-wild type party and all, but I just had to throw this song into the mix because I know that some of you love birds out there really need to get a slow dance out of your system. You know who you are! Wink, wink..." she giggled as she surveyed the crowd, eyes widening as they landed on Belle and Dipper across the room. Dipper rolled his eyes at his sister, but couldn't help smiling at her unending enthusiasm.

Mabel then signaled to Soos and the lights went dim and the disco ball slowed its pace, giving a romantic ambiance to the dance floor. Then the song started.

The first two notes was all it took. Dipper's face began to heat up. It started in his ears, then traveled down his neck. He could feel his whole body turning a flustered shade of pink. He mentally face palmed. _Oh God...Of course she did..._ It was the one song his sister knew he wouldn't be able to resist dancing to. He grabbed Belle's hand. "Shall we?" She just smiled back at him.

The blonde had seen this done thousands of times before, but never really paid too much attention to it, being mostly a human display of affection and all. Never had she taken part in the activity, though, so she felt an ever-so-slight twinge of trepidation.

They were out on the dance floor before the words began, and Dipper gently turned Belle towards him, closing the distance. He took her left hand and slid her arm around his waist, then wrapped his right arm around her, holding her close to him, and finally he held out his left hand for her to take. He mentally thanked Mabel for teaching him how to dance their last year of high school, even though he ended up not going to the senior prom.

And then a deep and sultry male voice began-

 _The world was on fire and no one could save me but you._

 _Strange what desire will make foolish people do._

The teen led his partner slowly with the rhythm of the music.

 _I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you._

 _And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you._

He closed his eyes as they moved together effortlessly. The blonde noticed this, but didn't think much of it, figuring it was just something humans did while dancing. She closed hers as well, realizing the words of the song were easier to dwell on.

 _No, I don't wanna fall in love._ (A woman's equally sultry voice replied,) _This world is only gonna break your heart._

 _No, I don't wanna fall in love... (This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _...with you._

 _(This world is only gonna break your heart)_

Belle thought to herself how the song wasn't actually half bad. She thought it to be much better than some others she'd heard more recently. She relaxed more into Dipper...he was so warm...so comfortable...so... _Ugh! Stoppit, Cipher!_

 _What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way._

 _What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you._

 _What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way._

 _What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you and,_

At this point, the brunet had let go of the blonde's hand and had both of his arms wrapped around her waist. She, also, had her arms wrapped around him, but behind his neck.

 _I wanna fall in love... (This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _No, I wanna fall in love... (This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _...with you._

The music soloed for nearly half a minute, allowing the words to really sink in to her mind. _Wicked game, indeed._ _Wow, humans sure are pretty creative with these feelings of theirs. This particular human must have been really emotionally damaged to write something like this. Hope I'm able to do just as good a job on Pine Tree here. What am I saying...of course I will! It's what I do best, after all._ She smiled at her own musings as she kept moving along to the music with her partner and listened for the next verses of the song.

 _The world was on fire, no one could save me but you._

 _Strange what desire will make foolish people do._

 _I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you._

 _And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you._

The couple seemed to be lost in each other as they danced; Belle's cheek now resting against Dipper's. They paid no mind to anyone else around them, and, in fact, had actually managed to gain the attention of the whole room.

 _No, I don't wanna fall in love... (This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _No, I wanna fall in love... (This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _...with you._

 _(This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _...with you._ _(This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _No, I... (This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _(This world is only gonna break your heart)_

 _Nobody loves no one._

 _Hm...wasn't expecting the song to end with that line,_ she thought as the song finished and she opened her eyes to see the other couples on the floor backing away from them, leaving them alone in the center of the dance floor. Just before the boy could lead his dance partner off the floor, though, a spotlight shown down on them and the crowd began to applaud.

Dipper immediately blushed. He hated being the center of attention, but, of course, here was his sister to shove him into the spotlight. Literally. He noticed Mabel had grabbed the mic again. _This can't be good._

"Woo-hoo! Let's hear it for who has to be this party's most adorable couple!" she beamed as she riled the crowd into even more applause. Her brother gave her that look of 'you asked for it', but Mabel just gave him back a face-splitting grin. "Ok everyone, there was your one slow song for the night. Time to get crazy again with more retro pop hits! Although...if you ask me, I sure wouldn't mind watching _those_ two again!"

The crowd laughed in agreement as poor Dipper just waved off his sister and had to hope he hadn't turned too bright a shade of red. The blonde smiled at Mabel and gently pulled the flustered boy back to one side of the room.

"Wow, you _really_ don't like social attention, do you," she stated once they had gotten away from the main crowd of guests.

"No, I _really_ don't," he echoed back. "Thanks for dancing with me...you were great."

She looked quizzically at him. "Of course. Why wouldn't I? And you were great, also."

"Thanks. My sister taught me how."

"Nice. And that song...you have some sort of special attachment to it?"

"Not really. It's just one I've always wanted to dance to with somebody, I just never got the chance with-" he abruptly cut himself off, not believing that he almost brought up his ex-girlfriend to who might be potentially his new girlfriend. "N-nevermind, who is not important," he smiled as he tried to sound calm and collected.

Belle smirked internally as she knew exactly who he was talking about. _Not important, indeed._

 **A/N No, this isn't the end of the party. I needed to break it up though, so I thought I'd release this part now. Hope you liked!**


	11. Shooting Stars Eventually Explode

**Chapter 11**

 **Shooting Stars Eventually Explode**

After a few party games, it was time to bring out the birthday cake. The twins stood behind the table, eager to get their first glimpse of the huge cake. It was special ordered by Mabel, but even she didn't know how it ended up looking. Grenda and Candy brought it out together, to which Mabel raised a confused eyebrow.

"I thought Tony was gonna be here to present the cake?" Mabel questioned to nobody in particular.

"I heard he broke his arm yesterday. He couldn't make it," Grenda answered in her usual aggressive voice as she neared the table. "Musta been a workplace accident because he closed his store early to go to the hospital."

 _Mhm, you could say that,_ Belle giggled to herself.

"Aw, poor Tony," Mabel sighed. "Hope he's o-WHOAMYGOSH it's beautiful!" she shrieked when she caught sight of the crazy colorful, covered in edible glitter, double sheet cake.

Eighteen randomly placed candles were glowing, wax beginning to melt down their sides by the time a stirring rendition of the happy birthday song was concluded. The twins faced each other, holding hands, like they did every year. They took this time to make their birthday wish, before letting go of each other and turning to blow out the candles together in one full breath.

Mabel wished for world peace and a rainbow colored pony. This was pretty much the same thing she had wished for as far back as she could remember. Dipper's wish, on the other hand, was different every year, this year being no exception. He knew birthday wishes never really came true, but he liked to keep them relatively obtainable.

This year, he decided to use his wish for his sister. She always did so much for everyone, always wanting to make everyone around her happy. _I wish that Mabel will find someone who makes her happy, someone who treats her like a queen, someone worthy of her._ He hoped with all his heart it would come true, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. Mabel had very little luck in the boyfriend department.

Cake was served and everyone dug into their overly sweet, extremely colorful, piece of cake. Belle had politely refused the offering, feeling dizzy just looking at the atrocious confection. Dipper quickly noticed her obvious lack of colorful cake.

"What, too sweet for you?" he joked.

"Yes, we'll go with that," she chuckled in returned. "You know, just because it says it's edible, doesn't mean it truly is."

Dipper's brow furrowed. "What? Of course this is edible," he playfully argued, stuffing his mouth with a bite.

"I meant all that glitter. Your body won't digest that," she giggled. "Let's just say you're going to have a colorful toilet in about twelve to twenty four hours."

Dipper nearly choked on his cake. He blushed, positively scandalized. "Um...ok, I think I'm done with this," he declared as he tossed the rest in a nearby garbage can. The blonde just continued to laugh at his expense.

The party went on well into the night. At some point, Dipper began to notice that his sister was spending a lot of time with a certain young man. He didn't look familiar, and eventually curiosity got the better of him. He had to figure out who was capturing so much of his sister's attention. As he approached, Mabel turned to her brother and grabbed hold of him, pulling him close.

"Noah, this is my brother, Dipper!" she beamed, clearly proud of her announcement. "Dipper, this is my new friend, Noah! He came with his cousin who went to high school here, he's visiting from Medford."

"Hi. Nice to meet you, Noah." Dipper politely shook his hand and smiled, happy his sister was happy. "So how long are you in town?"

"Actually, I was just telling Mabel that I was thinking about moving here and getting a place with my cousin. I'm kind of a computer nerd, so I work from home. My cousin wanted to try an internet start up company together, so moving here with him seems like my next logical step."

As Noah spoke, Dipper sized him up and listened carefully, taking notice of his body language. He seemed to be telling the truth, Dipper didn't pick up on any discrepancies.

"That's cool. What type of company were you wanting to start up?"

"I'm into web design, so something along those lines."

"Well, I wish you all the best, and if you do move here, I'll be your first client. The Mystery Shack's web site needs serious help." Dipper smiled as he excused himself, wanting to get back to Belle. He stopped suddenly, though, when he felt a tug on his arm. Mabel pulled him aside.

"So, what do you think of Noah?!" she asked while practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"He seems nice. More importantly, what do _you_ think of him?"

"Omigosh, I think he might be _the one_ , Dip! We've been talking most the night and we're perfect for each other!" Her smile couldn't get any bigger.

"Hey, slow down there, sis," he sighed as he reached out to put his hands on each of her shoulders, trying to keep her somewhat still. Her bouncing around was making him dizzy. "...Don't go rushing into anything now. You have your whole life ahead of you, and I really do want you to find someone and be happy, just...be careful, ok?"

"Pfft..I know all that, you don't need to worry about me," she reassured. "Besides, you're one to talk," she teased. "Seems to me like you and a pretty blonde girl are getting awfully close lately...and you've only known each other a few days," she teased.

"Huh, yeah...I guess you're right," he said, not really knowing how to come back at that. She gave him a quick hug and was immediately off to meet up with Noah again.

His sister was right. Even with all the red flags he had gotten from Belle, he was allowing himself to get close. Maybe he was letting his guard down. Maybe he needed to take a step back from this...friendship? Relationship? He wasn't even sure what it was they had, exactly. She had mentioned they were friends before, but was it more now? Where was this going?

 _I really don't know that much about her. Maybe I should be taking my own advice._

Dipper went back to where he last left Belle and found her in what seemed to be a very engaged conversation with a guy he knew from town. It was Jimmy. He used to have fun with Grunkle Stan at the grocery store, throwing a dozen eggs at him and seeing how many he could catch. He remembered the time Stan came home covered in raw eggs. Jimmy didn't know Stan had temporarily lost his hands to a witch, only to be replaced with forks by Mabel.

Suddenly, Dipper's smile from the memory dissolved into...something else. A familiar pang welled up in his gut as he got closer to them. They were laughing about something, and Jimmy had put his hand on her shoulder. A friendly gesture no doubt, but one that made Dipper's body tense up with harsh emotion, nonetheless. Was this _jealousy_? Was he actually getting _jealous_ over Belle talking and laughing with another guy? _No. Can't be. We're not even officially dating. Gees, Dipper, get a grip._

His thoughts still racing a hundred miles an hour, he hadn't noticed they had ended their conversation and Belle was walking up to him.

"There you are," she smiled, startling him out of his thoughts. "I thought you'd left me." She gave him a playful pout look.

"Oh...yeah, sorry. I was just talking to Mabel and her new friend," he explained, looking back over his shoulder as if to point out where he'd been. Turning back to the blonde he asked, "You wanna go outside? I need to get some air again."

"Sure."

They slipped out the side door, warm summer night air greeting them. They headed to the main road, not really going anywhere in particular. Dipper just needed to get away from the crowd. He glanced over to young woman by his side, noticing how her hair seemed to glow even in the midst of twilight.

"Hey, um...I never got a chance to thank you for this," he said as he adjusted the bow tie around his neck. "So, well, thanks." She just nodded and smiled. "And I noticed you had a similar one," he quickly added.

"Yes, I made them. Pure Chinese silk and spun twenty four karat gold thread," she stated as if those two things were just as common as polyester and aluminum. "I wasn't sure if you'd like it," she paused as she felt her skin start to blush, "but I thought it would look good on you."

Dipper smiled at that. "I love it. It's...kinda classy."

He was about to reach over to hold her hand, but then stopped himself. He remembered his conversation with Mabel earlier, about not rushing into something before getting to know the other person first. So he just shoved his hands into his pants pockets and continued walking next to her.

Hearing the conflict in his mind, Belle couldn't help but wonder about this particular human. He was inquisitive, intelligent, funny... _a gentleman who treated women with respect...adorable in his awkwardness...and WHAT AM I THINKING?!_ _Aaahhhgg!_ _If I don't get a handle on these feelings NOW, I am going to be in trouble. That's it...I can't do this anymore, I can't pretend anymore._

The clicking of metal heels on the sidewalk stopped abruptly. Dipper, wrapped up in his thoughts again, had continued several steps beyond her before he realized that she had stopped walking. He quickly turned around, only to be greeted by an empty sidewalk.

"Belle?" he called out. There was no response. He looked all around, but he didn't see anything. He called out again, a little more panic in his voice, "Belle?!" He didn't know what to think. One minute she was there and the next, she was gone.

 _Why would she just...leave?_

He began to return the way they came, and then noticed a folded piece of paper on the ground. It was bright yellow, his name written in black across it. He picked it up, unfolded it, and examined the writing:

 _ **Rljwwxcuxenhxd**_

 _ **Hxdtwxffqjcrjv**_

His brow furrowed in confusion. Although the handwriting was elaborate, almost old-fashioned-like ornate, it was just gibberish, a bunch of seemingly random letters that didn't spell out any discernible words. He was about to crumple it up and shove it in his pocket when he noticed a small number in the bottom left corner.

"Nine," he said out loud, to nobody. _Did she mean to drop this for me..._ _But why..._ And then it suddenly dawned on him, it wasn't gibberish. It was a code, but he would need to get home to decipher it.

 _What kind of game is she playing..._ The whole situation wasn't sitting right with him. He jogged back to the hall, finding Soos as quickly as possible. His mind was once again a jumbled mess of questions, theories, and doubts; a poisonous mixture combining within him.

"Soos!" a sweaty and out of breath Dipper exclaimed, startling the big man.

"Hey dude! Ya scared me...why you all sweaty? You in a race or something, dawg?"

"Sorry, Soos...look, I need to go home. Can I take your truck? Mabel should be able to get Candy or Grenda to take you guys home later." Dipper's voice was laced with urgency, and a little panic.

"Sure thing, dude! Everything ok? You feeling sick? I know my gut's been hurtin' ever since that sparkly cake...but I could totally go for another piece!" he laughed, but he was totally serious about more cake.

"Yeah, no I'm fine, Soos...look, I gotta go now, please, find Mabel for me and tell her something came up and I went home, but I'm fine. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, dawg! You can count on me!" he called as Dipper hurried away.

Dipper got to the truck, dug out his keys, and unlocked the driver's side door. He started it up, absent-mindedly glancing over at the passenger side. Belle's jacket was glaringly absent. _What the hell? When would she have gotten that?_ He decided to dwell on that later, throwing the truck into reverse and backing out. Just as he was about to throw in drive, a hand smacked against the driver's side window. A very upset, and out of breath, Mabel stood outside the truck, barely holding back tears.

Before Dipper could even get the window rolled down, she started in on him. "Dipper! You promised! Where are you going that could be more important to you than _our_ birthday party?!" she cried.

"It's not like that, Mabes... I have to get home so I can decipher a no-" He was cut off before he could finish.

"WHAT?! You are leaving early to do THAT?! I can't believe you would do this to me...you're gonna miss the balloon drop and the glitter cannons and everything!"

"Mabel, listen! Belle disap-"

"No, YOU listen, Mason Pines!" (Ouch. Real names attached with last names, that's never a good sign.) "I always put up with your silly ideas and theories and am always there for you, and the _one_ time I ask you to be here for me...you have to leave to...to, decode a freaking message! Fine! You go play detective on our birthday...I hope it's worth it!"

And with that, not even giving her brother a chance to respond, she stormed back towards the building.

"I _have_ to do this, Mabel!" he yelled as she was walking across the parking lot. "I'll explain later!" She just ignored him.

 _Dammit! Why is this happening tonight?! It'll be ok...Mabel will forgive me...eventually. Especially if I figure out what the hell is going on with a certain blonde..._

He shifted into drive and peeled out of the parking lot, pulling into the driveway of the shack less than fifteen minutes later. His tie and jacket were off before he reached the door.

He pulled out a specific code book and sat down at his small desk in his room. He pulled out the folded yellow paper and began the process of decoding it.

It didn't look to be a difficult one, in fact, he spotted the method right away. Caesarian shift codes were ones he'd done many times. _She obviously wanted me to figure this out fast,_ he thought as he took out a notebook and pencil and started writing:

 **Icannotloveyou**

Dipper looked on those first words with sorrow. _Why? Who is this woman?_ He finished writing:

 **YouknowwhatIam**

" _What_ I am?" he questioned aloud. Those last three words gave him the most unsettling feeling he'd ever felt.

 **A/N Next chapter gets real, guys...**


	12. Chapter 12 Rude Awakening

**A/N So we're finally to the part that I originally wrote several months ago. After reworking it, several times over, both for fluidity and storyline accuracy, I'm still not sure I'm completely happy with it. Oh well, it's what I'm putting out, so hope you enjoy.**

 **Rude Awakening**

Belle stood silently at the bedroom door, watching as Dipper decoded her message.

Anything she had begun to feel over the last few days was shoved away; all the anger, hate, and revenge that had been building up over the last five years brought to the forefront of her being.

 _This is for everything you did to me... Because this is what I am, after all._

She crept up silently behind him as he sat bent over the notebook at his desk, seemingly not even disturbing the air as she moved. "Boo," she whispered gently behind his head. An extremely startled Dipper nearly fell to the floor. "Wow! I've never seen someone jump so high!" Belle laughed, hysterically.

"H-how-" he began, but a bright blue fingernail pressed to his lips cut him off. It was inhumanly warm, hot almost, as she brushed her finger over his mouth.

"Shhhhh," she whispered as she moved her face closer to him. She moved in as close as possible without actually touching him. Her mouth was now only millimeters from his ear. Dipper closed his eyes, his heart racing in his chest, as he felt her hot breath against his skin. "I think you already know the answer to that question, _Pine Tree._ "

Upon hearing those last two words, Dipper was finally certain of what he had long suspected, and he felt his pounding heart nearly stop altogether. He had a history of suffering panic attacks, but what he was about to experience would go way beyond that. His chest muscles tightened up so much that he could no longer take in enough air. Each breath became more impossible than the last, until his blood oxygen plummeted to critical levels. In only a matter of seconds, his body could no longer tolerate the conditions it was being subjected to and his brain put a stop to the trauma the only way it knew how- It lost consciousness. He slumped to the floor with a loud thud, body in an almost coma-like state.

"Aw, so cute how two little words can actually frighten your feeble bodies into such a state! Buuut, it's just not going to be that easy for you, kid," she said playfully. "Passing out is just too easy, I want you to be fully aware of what is happening."

She easily scooped him up off the floor and layed him down on his bed. "Hmm. Maybe a wardrobe change first," she said with a sly smile. A swipe of her hand instantly changed the party clothes he was still wearing into grey cargo shorts, a red t-shirt, and a navy blue vest. "Yes, that's much better. Now, I suppose I should bring you back so you can join in on the fun."

Her right hand hovered above his chest, glowing blue fingernails stretched out like the claws of a predator. An electrical charge suddenly surged from her palm, straight into Dipper's limp body. The jolt revived his consciousness, but he still had his eyes closed. She looked down at him, almost lovingly.

"Ahh, so peaceful," she cooed. "But we'll change that." A devilish smile broke out across her face. "Wake up, my little Pine Tree."

Dipper heard the angelic voice that seemed to rain down on him from above. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw one deep blue eye staring back at him, the other hidden behind glowing, golden hair. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb your peaceful rest?" The voice was still angelic, but he could hear the sarcastic inflection in it. He opened his mouth to say something, but was instantly hushed again by a blue fingernail. "No, no," she scolded gently. "Don't speak just yet. I want you to see something first." Dipper remained quiet out of pure fear.

She carefully coaxed him off of the bed, sensing the anxiety starting to rush through his body as she pulled him up to his feet. She led him in front of the full length mirror on the backside of his bedroom door. Dipper gasped as he caught sight of his reflection.

"So, what do you think?" she asked excitedly. He couldn't speak as he stared in disbelief at the all-too-familiar outfit he was wearing. "No words, huh? Well, maybe we're missing something. Ah, yes! I have just the thing to complete your new outfit."

From behind her back she brought an old, extremely worn, trucker's cap. She placed it snugly on his head, wisps of brown hair pushing out from underneath it, here and there. The blue shape of a pine tree reflected back at him. "That's better," she chirped with a huge grin on her face.

An onslaught of horrible memories rushed into his head like a tidal wave. His stomach churned as he grew more and more nauseated from the realization of what was happening. But then, suddenly, all his emotions turned to pure anger. The fingers of his right hand began to close into a trembling fist. Despite being raised to never, _ever_ strike a woman, he reasoned that this was a more than acceptable exception. Out of pure rage he swung his arm around, aiming for her head, but she easily side-stepped out of the path of his feeble assault attempt.

"Whoa! Strike one, slugger!" she exclaimed, nearly laughing aloud. She was very amused at his desperate attempt, even more so because of the way he was now dressed. "I knew you wouldn't be very pleased about this, but, taking a swing at a lady? That's just wro-". Dipper, having found his voice finally, cut her off out of sheer disgust.

"You- you're no lady, you d-demon bastard!" he stammered. Still, the look of amusement soaked her face. "I knew it! I knew you were him- her...whatever it is you are!"

Now opposite from him and the closed door, she took a moment to think about how she was going to respond to him. He was hoping for some sort of delay as he suddenly remembered the metal softball bat he kept standing in the corner behind his door. Without turning, he reached out behind him, snagged the bat, and closed the gap between them, all in one fairly quick move, and then took another swing at her. This time, she held out one hand and effortlessly caught the weapon just inches from her face. Smiling, she used the momentum of the swing to toss him onto the floor. He was hurled onto his back, hitting the hard surface once again.

"Strike two! And quite literally this time. I'm slightly impressed," she mused with a smug grin on her face. Dipper looked up to see her still holding the bat, tapping it in and out of her free hand. "Oh, don't worry," she smiled as she looked from the bat to his red face. "I wouldn't dream of using it on you. In fact, I think I'll give _you_ one free shot at _me_. Not with this, of course." She tossed the bat onto the bed and put her arms behind her back in mock surrender. "Come on, let's see what you got, Pine Tree. One uncontested swing at me, but you can only use your fist. I'll even close my eyes," she said in a shockingly innocent voice.

Dipper wasted no time in moving quickly behind her. The adrenaline rushing through his body was giving him a much needed boost of energy. He wrapped his left arm around her neck in a choke hold, squeezing tighter than he even thought he was capable of. Belle wasn't expecting this and immediately opened her eyes. But she never struggled or fought him off. This was too much fun.

"Mmm... I didn't know you were into this kind of thing," she managed to whisper sensually, though her throat was being crushed.

"Go to hell, you bitch!" Dipper screamed as he brought his right fist around to her head.

Suddenly she felt a rush of pain on the right side of her face. Her jaw was knocked out of alignment and she could feel herself falling to the floor. After a split second of shock, she shot back up to her feet. A warm, metallic taste filled her mouth as she felt something ooze down her throat. There was something sharp and extremely hard wedged in her cheek. She reached into her mouth and pulled out a large shard of tooth that was broken off by the impact. The sight of blood amused her, even more so than she already was. Not surprised by her reaction, Dipper just stood there, holding his very sore hand and staring down the bloodied, but still unimaginably beautiful, woman.

Her fingernails began to glow blue as she swiped a hand across the side of her face, healing her injuries instantly. Rather than spit out the pool of blood that had gathered in her mouth, she hungrily swallowed it down.

"Not bad, Pines! Not... Bad... At... All." She licked each finger clean of the blood after each word. "Boy, I've been missing out," she said to herself, mostly under her breath. The taste of human blood was new to her.

"Well, I must admit, I didn't think you had it in you...hitting _and_ name calling of a woman. It's no wonder you're still single," she giggled. She sat down on the edge of his bed and patted the side next to her, motioning for Dipper to take a seat.

"Yeah, right. I'd rather die." He reached for the chair at the desk, wincing audibly as his right hand gave out trying to grasp it. He tried his hardest to not show how much pain he was in as he quickly grabbed it with his left hand, instead. Knowing his defeat, he slumped down into the hard chair, but not before ripping the blue and white pine tree hat from his head and throwing it across the room.

"Oh, don't be that way," she playfully pouted as she watched the hat fly into the wall. "I went through a lot of trouble to get that for you."

It suddenly occurred to Dipper that the hat had to be the exact same one he wore all summer that fateful year. The one he had traded with... "WENDY!" he shouted, a sickening feeling starting to well up in his gut again. "HOW DID YOU GET THIS?!" he demanded as he flew out of his chair to pick the hat back up. He groaned from the pain in his hand as he picked up the dirty, worn hat, staring at it the whole way back to his chair. "I swear, if you did ANYTHING to her, I'll-"

"You'll what? Hmm?" she snapped back at him. "All powerful, immortal being over here, remember?!" She felt the redness beginning to flow into her eyes. _Nope, not yet_ , she thought to herself. She took a deep breath.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. The circumstances surrounding Wendy's departure from his life always did seem a bit too coincidental... _That was all your fault,_ he thought as he glared daggers at her. _You had something to do with it...to get her out of my life...to make me suffer..._

"Yeah, took you long enough to figure that one out," she replied casually.

Not even paying attention to the fact that she had just responded to something he didn't say out loud, he began to yell again. "I FINALLY got her to go out with me! I was HAPPY! How could...Why... Oh, I am going to..." he trailed off as he clenched up his fist, forgetting it was injured and wincing at the pain again.

"Okay, let's just calm down and relax a minute, shall we? Let's see that hand," she said as she held out her hand and beckoned for his.

"Don't. I don't care how much it hurts, you're not touching me, demon," he said, sulking.

"O-kay. I can see we're not going to get anywhere this way. So I guess I'll just have to paralyze you," she said, matter-of-factly.

"N-n-no!" he started, but it was too late. Belle already snapped her fingers in his face. He was helpless.

She could still see the look of disgust on his face. "Don't be a poor sport. I can't have you whining over an injury like this over the next several days. Besides... you'll probably need that hand later." A suggestive smile grew on her face.

 _You are sick, you demon scum! When I get out of this I'm gonna-_

As she knelt in front of him, getting ready to grab his injured hand, she flashed him an angry glance and quickly cut off his train of thought. "Gonna what? I believe we just covered that. Now stop with the pathetic insults and empty threats and let me do this. Oh, that's right. You don't have a choice," she said with a smirk.

This time, he was aware of what she did. _So you_ can _read minds...Dammit!_ She just rolled her eyes and shook her head as she reached out for the now black and blue hand. An immense calm overtook Dipper as she gently took his hand and looked it over. He couldn't believe how soft and gentle she was being after what had just taken place.

"Looks like you broke it. Next time, don't grip your fist so tight, and begin to pull back as soon as you make contact." Her nonchalant-ness about the whole situation was baffling to the teen.

 _Seriously?! You're giving me fighting tips? Yeah, right. I'll try to remember that next time I feel the urge to punch a demon, which will be soon, I'm sure._

"Oh, stop. You know, I could put you down anytime, like an old dog. I've been nothing but tolerant of you, considering what you and your uncles did to me. In fact, I just brought you back from what was going to end up as a full-blown coma a few minutes ago...where's the appreciation for _that_ , Pine Tree?"

 _Stop calling me that! And you deserved what we did to you... and you should have left me that way._

"Well, now...how am I supposed to torture you when you're unconscious?" she asked through an evil smile. "Now shut up and let me fix this." She almost felt guilty for letting the boy have at her, knowing how fragile humans were. _Almost_. She quickly let the thought fall away as she focused on repairing the damage.

Healing herself was one thing, but a being other than herself took far more energy from her. Repairing the mind wasn't a big deal, it just needed electrical impulses in just the right places, and the mind was Cipher's specialty, after all. Repairing broken bones, on the other hand, was a different story. After all, energy like that didn't come out of nowhere, and she needed living energy, not just potential or physical energy. The only other living thing around was herself, so she would have to use her own.

After a half minute or so of building up the blue glow in her fingernails, she brushed her hand over his. The broken bone knit back together, and the bruising and swelling instantly subsided. She got up with some effort and took a few steps back before snapping her fingers and removing his immobility.

Dipper rubbed his once very sore hand and stared at it in disbelief. After a few seconds, Belle became impatient and spoke first. "Well?" she questioned harshly.

"Well, what?" he replied, honestly perplexed. Realization hit him suddenly, though. "Oh, you can't be serious! You want me to _thank_ you for doing that?! You're the reason I got injured in the first place! You're insane if you think I would actually thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah...I'm insane either way, remember?" she said as she winked at him. "Suit yourself. Just keep in mind that I may not be as amiable next time."

Dipper shuddered at the confidence in her voice, like there was definitely going to _be_ a next time.

"What makes you think there'll even be a next time? You're not welcome here, Cipher! Just leave already!" he hissed, though obviously nervous.

Belle ignored him, deciding to make herself comfortable on Mabel's bed. She jumped playfully onto it, folding her hands behind her head before lying down on the fluffy pillows that littered the head of the bed. She stared at the ceiling, waiting for Dipper's next move.

Seeing that she wasn't going to leave him alone anytime soon, Dipper slumped down onto his bed, back up against the wall, feeling utterly lost and confused. He tried to keep his thoughts at a minimum, knowing she would hear all of it as if he had spoken it out loud. Finally, he opened his mouth, took in a deep breath, and began to speak.


	13. Chapter 13 Conflicted

**Chapter 13**

 **Conflicted**

"Obviously you're not going anywhere any time soon...or ever, whatever the case may be. And it's now also obvious that you have been the cause of a lot of the crap happening around here lately. So what is it that you want? What the hell do you want from us?!" His voice had amplified just slightly as he got to the end of his rant.

"I think you know the answer to that already, Pine-" but her words were cut off by Dipper's sudden shriek.

"DON'T!" he screamed at her, almost more as a reflex than anything else. He then realized he was in no position to be screaming at an all-powerful demon, let alone demanding anything of her...or him...or whatever. He was still really confused at what he thought was a gender shift. _Do demons even_ have _a gender? Ugh...why do I even care right now?!_

"Hm, now _there's_ a decent question," she said more to herself than to him. Normally, a lesser being's sudden outburst which both interrupted and disrespected her would result in some sort of immediate torture, if not death. But she was genuinely intrigued by his thoughts, and decided to let it slide. "So, do you think we can have a civil conversation, or are you going to yell and interrupt me all the time?"

"S-sorry, I'm just... it's just that, that name is a brutal reminder of, well...you know. You were there." He could feel his eyes begin to sting as deeply buried memories flooded to the surface. He took a deep breath to try and regain some of his previous composure. "So what's your deal, anyways?" he quipped as he waved a hand in her direction. "You get a bit confused when you took a human body? Or are you just into the whole cross-dressing thing...which, if that's the case, you sure are pretty good at."

"Good one," she replied, smiling at his attempt to insult her. "You humans are all the same. So wrapped up in gender identification all the time. Let's clarify a few things for your puny little mind, shall we? For starters, I have no gender. I am what I am. I have no need for procreation, or anything else that comes with a sexual identity, in my existence."

 _So demons_ don't _have a gender then. Interesting._ He knew she would hear, but couldn't help thinking it. She let out an audible sigh of frustration, which Dipper gathered had to be in response to this thought.

"I am NOT a demon," she said as she rolled her eyes and then suddenly sat up on her elbows. "You simplistic humans like to use terms loosely, and I found over the centuries that it was the only word you could use to help wrap your weak minds around what I am. I grew tired of correcting you and explaining myself, so I just went with it. So no, I am not a true demon. Demons _do_ have a gender, and they are limited to within only two dimensions- yours and the spiritual realm. They are the souls of once living, physical creatures that were not entirely human. You know, there's a certain ancient Hebrew book that talks about them, it even has a sequel. You should read it."

Dipper's brows knit together in true curiosity. "Are you talking about the _Bible_? But that's just old made-up stories and myths, isn't it?"

"If it was, why would I tell you to read it?"

 _Uh, because you're a lying psychopath who-_ he began to reply in his mind.

Belle quickly interrupted, "Shut up and let me finish! Everything it contains is historical fact. Myths and legends of other cultures are rooted in actual, real history, also. You humans are far too simple to make this stuff up, yourselves. You have a problem with acceptance of things that you don't see, and an even harder time accepting what you _do_ see. When you finally realized there was value in recording and documenting your own history, a lot of the really neat creatures that existed and fascinating events that happened were mostly forgotten about. Many civilizations passed down stories and tales to keep some memories alive, if not just for the sake of making a moral point to their offspring, but a lot was truly lost."

"So everything that we've ever written is factual? I mean, at least in some way?" Dipper was becoming more and more interested in the conversation, especially if it meant a deeper understanding of the universe.

"Well, everything up until-" She stopped herself suddenly, sensing where this was going. She wasn't here to give him all the secrets of the universe. "Never mind. We're getting off track, here. I am _not_ a true demon, and I have no gender in my true form. That's all you need to know."

She let herself fall back down onto the pile of pillows. Dipper watched as her hair bounced up from the impact, falling behind her head and away from her face. Two bright blue eyes stared up at the wooden ceiling.

"So, what are you, then, exactly?" he inquired, genuinely curious.

Belle thought about whether or not she should answer him, but decided there would be no consequence in doing so. After all, no mortal being had ever been able to use such information against her. The human boy would never live long enough for it to matter, anyway.

She sat up and leaned against the wall, the same way Dipper was on his bed opposite from her. Breathing in deeply, she began.

"Before the earth, or anything else in the universe, was created, there existed only a void of formless matter and energy. There was no rhyme or reason to anything, since every single unit of matter was separated from each other. Chaos was the force that kept it that way. Basically, chaos was everything, and everything was chaos. When the Creator spoke everything into order, matter and energy, and even time, were ripped from the chaos and became everything that currently exists. In order to prevent chaos from infiltrating, and, ultimately, unraveling the newly formed creation, the Creator ordered it into its own being. That is what I am. I _am_ chaos. I won't go into detail, but at some point in human history I was restricted to the Nightmare Realm, with only access to the Mindscape; only allowed to exist within its confines. I suppose, since the very nature of the human mind is, in its own way, quite unlimited in its arrangement, it wasn't the worst thing to be imprisoned in. It allowed me to continue to cause chaos in dreams and nightmares, bring insanity to those I deemed deserving, and it also allowed me to gain a better understanding of the Creator's precious humans."

Dipper immediately sensed bitterness in her voice. She also seemed to tense up quite a bit at those words. He was beginning to think she had a personal vendetta, not against just him and his family, but against all of humanity. He almost began to feel _sorry_ for her, but then suddenly- laughter.

"Ahahahahaha!" It sounded sinister. It sounded...maniacal. "Aaaah..." she sighed as she released a breath, seemingly quite content with herself. "Well, who knew that being tricked into one person's mind and being obliterated from it would ultimately result in my physical release from the Mindscape, entirely?!"

Dipper was speechless. He really could not believe, let alone even begin to comprehend, what he just heard. He didn't have to say anything though, as Belle began to answer his inquiry from earlier, her manic episode suddenly over.

"As for the gender choice, well, that should be easy enough for even _you_ to understand." Dipper glared at her for that snide remark. She ignored him as she continued, rather matter-of-factly, "I know how much you liked Red, and how you males swoon over any pretty face that shows you even the slightest attention. Would you have let me get this close to you if I were male? Would you have trusted me as much? I've studied you silly mortals very closely these last five years, catching up with your modern culture and scrutinizing every detail of your pathetic existence. What I came to discover was that, no matter how much the males of your species would beg to differ, the females have the most control in your world. They can manipulate males in almost any aspect. To tell you the truth, I see them as the smarter of the two. So, naturally, I went with _this_ ," she stated proudly as she motioned to all of herself.

Dipper, finding his confidence renewed, managed to comment, "Hmm, I guess that makes sense." Watching her from his side of the room, he couldn't help but stare. Even though he knew better, he also couldn't help his thoughts. ... _So beautiful, even if she is an evil- whatever she is, who is probably going to make my life a living hell for who knows how long..._

She slumped back down onto her back, then rolled over onto her side, hand supporting her head and a gloating look on her face. "Yeah, I am going to do that. And there's nothing you can do about it."

That made Dipper's heart rate increase a bit. He began to feel uneasy.

"Y-you know, we beat you before, and we can beat you again. What m-makes you think this time will be any different?" he demanded, trying to stay firm, but his voice betraying him again.

"Oh, Pine Tree..." Dipper glared at her for using that name again. "Because this time, and you have your stupid uncles to blame for this, I am a physical resident of your realm. I can make things very bad for you and those you care about. You do care for your family and friends, right?" she asked smugly.

"Of course I do!" he snapped back. "You better not...ugh! Just, what do you want?!" Heat was rising in his face again.

"Whoa, calm down, kid. It's not like I want to make a deal with you or anything. Not that I even _need_ to make deals anymore. I don't need anything from you. I have my own body, and I have you and your sister to torment... What more could I want?!" she sneered.

Dipper contemplated what she just said, realizing that it was, in fact, true. She was physically here. She knew his weaknesses, especially when it came to his family and those he cared about. He felt trapped; backed into the proverbial corner. He felt utterly helpless.

He buried his face in his hands, mind racing with all the information he had just taken in. He thought about everything that happened over the past few days, how he was warned, how he chose to ignore those warnings. He thought about everyone he cared about...Wendy, his Grunkles, Mabel... _Mabel!_ he screamed internally.

"Dammit! What did I do...?" He scrambled to his feet. "I left her. I said I wouldn't and I did...and all for- what... 'Cause I was concerned about _you_!" he hissed at the blonde. His words were fuming with ire; realization of what he'd done hitting him hard. _I gotta get back there..._

"Don't bother, kid," she maliciously answered his thought. "The damage is already done. She's already left the party with that Noah guy she just met. I _could_ tell you where they've gone, but I don't think I wi-" She was cut off by a sudden slamming of hands around her throat.

Seething with pure rage, Dipper had jumped on top of her, clasping his hands around her neck. Of course, where his sister was involved, he had a bad habit of acting first and thinking second. Belle, almost as amused at this attempt to harm her as she was at his first, easily countered his assault by shoving a burst of blue flames to his chest, sending him crashing against the wall on the other side of the room. Dipper landed in a heap on the floor.

"I-if she ge-gets hurt..." he mumbled, practically whispering, as he struggled to get back on his feet, "I d-don't care... what it ta-takes..." He stopped to catch his breath, feeling as if he may have a broken rib from being flung against the wall. _I will find a way to kill you..._ He had to finish his thought in his head, knowing full well she'd hear him.

Belle just sat up again, a sinister grin plastered on her face. She was about to retort when Dipper began having a coughing fit. He doubled over, falling to his knees and holding his chest in pain. Several coughs in, he began to spit blood onto the floor. A rib had been broken, slightly puncturing one of his lungs. Belle suddenly felt a sharp pang in her gut, similar to what one feels when watching someone they care about is hurting.

 _Don't,_ something deep inside told her. But she couldn't just sit there and watch this...she had to do _something_.

 _Don't!_ it said again.

 _Why not?!_ she replied harshly.

 _Because you DON'T CARE!_

The internal conflict was becoming something she couldn't tolerate any longer. Shoving all thoughts aside, she went over to the boy and offered to help him up.


	14. Chapter 14 Decisions That Inspire

**A/N** Ok, here's the deal- I am having a tremendous bout of writer's block and am extremely annoyed with this chapter, but I'm putting it out there anyways because I don't really know what else to do with it and I'm getting frustrated with this story in general. I truly am sorry if it feels rushed. I know it's shorter than usual, also...but hey, the fact that I even got SOMETHING out is a freaking miracle in its own rite.

 **Chapter 14**

 **Decisions That Inspire**

Rather than waste any time arguing with Dipper, she immediately put him out, and not just paralysis this time. She fully sedated him, consciousness and all. Ignoring the voice telling her not to care about the mortal in front of her, she gently picked him up and placed him back on his bed. She looked down on his feeble body, thinking about what they had done together, and even though it had only been a few days, it felt like much longer to her.

A warm smile crossed her face as she thought back on the first time he saw her: The shy, awkward boy who was easily entranced by beauty, but equally paranoid about her at the same time; the way he flushed with embarrassment at being called by his nickname when Soos first introduced them; how he got so worked up over the way she looked at him as she was leaving the shack that day, like she was some kind of predator staring up at him like he was next on the menu...

She tried to push back the thoughts as she began to concentrate on the task at hand- repairing the bodily damage she had done just moments ago. As with the broken hand, she was going to have to use her own energy, only this was going to use up a significantly larger amount. A broken rib plus the punctured lung, she knew humans were fragile, but dang... _Oh well, don't think, just do..._

Gently, she pulled back his shirt so as to have direct contact with his skin. Immediately she became distracted by the expanse of pale, soft skin. She ran her fingers over the bare chest that had not even matured to the point of having any hair yet, and again her thoughts drifted: He was shy and awkward, yes, but even in the short amount of time she'd been around him, she noticed how he was becoming bolder, more confident with himself. He had surprised her in the hall that morning by asserting himself to kiss her, and shown very little apprehension when he pulled her to the floor to dance with him. And the way they had danced...

Her eyes fell heavy as she thought about their dance. _Mmmm, he was so warm and-_ she was suddenly jolted back to reality as the hand that had come to rest on the sleeping boy detected a sharp increase in his heart rate. _Uh, that's not good-_ At a loss as to what was happening, she tried to re-focus her energy on the brunet's consciousness. If he were to wake up now, he'd be in severe pain.

 _But, why do you care?!_ Conflict was returning.

 _Because if he's dead, or severely incapacitated, there's no fun in it for me..._ she tried to reason. Physical torture wasn't her preferred method, anyway. Mental anguish was always more fun to watch play out.

She concentrated all her energy on keeping the boy sedated. Once she was satisfied that he would remain that way, she wasted no time in doing what needed to be done to heal him. Digging deep, she powered up just one hand, taking several minutes this time. Her nails burned with midnight blue flame; much darker than they had been before. She brought her fingers down onto the skin directly above the broken rib and pierced lung, allowing the built up energy to flow into him.

Knowing the process would take longer, she relaxed and tried to not think about anything else. No feelings, no conflict- nothing. Just as she felt the final traces of designated energy leave her, her vision blurred severely. Confusion was quickly replaced with panic. She had never experienced such a thing; didn't know she was capable of losing any capacities. Drained and physically exhausted from healing Dipper, she could only slump down to her knees at the side of his bed. She tried to control her breathing, thinking that what was happening to her was merely a side effect of the energy toll on her own human body, and if she calmed down it would surely pass. Only seconds later, everything went completely black.

Dipper slowly opened his eyes, blinking at the familiar attic ceiling above him. Within seconds, memory of what had recently happened flooded back into his mind. He took a deep breath, but was no longer in any pain. He placed his hand on his chest and pressed down firmly, but with the same result- no pain. Not seeing Belle in his peripherals, he shot up, adrenaline beginning to flow. He calmed down immediately, however, as he spotted her on the floor next to him.

 _The heck?...why would she be down there, and not moving...and not...Crap!_

Her state had left her with a very shallow heartbeat and even shallower breathing. Dipper thought she wasn't breathing at all, resulting in his own bout of panic, much like she had just experienced only a moment ago. His actions were more like reflexes, because had he stopped to think about the situation more in-depth, he may have left her that way, or felt the need to bind her up in order to figure out a way to eliminate this very real threat that had imposed itself on him and his family. Being humane was his first instinct, however. Anything else was secondary.

He jumped off the bed, kneeling beside the blonde on the hard wood floor. Pressing his fingers against her neck, it took several seconds, but he could make out a faint pulse. His eye caught a very slow rise and fall from her chest, signaling that she was still breathing, if only barely. He scooped her limp body up from the floor and placed her on his bed.

Stepping back, a feeling of relief washed over him, but it fled as quickly as it had come, and in its place there crept a completely different family of emotions. Confusion, dread, loathing; a toxic cocktail which would normally drive a person to resort to whatever means necessary to remedy that which was causing them in the first place. In Dipper's case, it was the beautiful, yet despicable, person he was staring down at.

 _Ok, Dipper, let's recap our situation, shall we?_

 _One- Bill Cipher, the demon, er- the entity that tried to end the world and kill your family is now back in the physical realm, as a female person, who has also divulged that she is the literal embodiment of chaos._

 _Two- Said being of chaos has made it very clear, in no uncertain terms, that she is going to make your life hell for the duration thereof._

 _Three- Within a very minimal span of time, said being has completely healed you, not just once, but twice. Granted, she caused the injuries, but that's neither here not there, considering she could have just left you to suffer._

 _Four- It appears that as a result of this second healing, she has taken a significant physical toll, herself, and now lies helpless and unconscious in front of you...leaving you with one immeasurably important decision to consider-_

 _Do you: Drag her down to Ford's room in the basement, find something magical to bind her with that she couldn't possibly free herself from, giving you time to figure out a way to rid her of this dimension for good, OR..._

 _Do you: show her mercy and try to help her both physically and emotionally, argue your point for human decency with her, and hope to God she can sympathize with the human condition enough to withdraw her vendetta against you and all of human kind?_

He dragged his hands down his face as he already knew what he was going to do, and although having that internal conversation with himself helped clarify things, he still felt that he was about to throw all rationality out the window- by going with the latter idea. He could only hope his sister would be able to forgive him after finding out what he was about to do, especially if she found out that he was afforded the opportunity to restrain her, thereby giving them the chance to permanently abolish their family's tormentor forever.

In the end, it came down to Dipper's own humanity. He had reasoned that if he were to do the former, that would make him no better than Belle...or Bill Cipher...the being embodying all of chaos. He had also reasoned that if she had wanted- no, absolutely and wholeheartedly desired- to wipe out the human race and once again spread chaos throughout this universe, she would have done so already. So that, he reasoned, meant that maybe, just maybe, there was a speck of humanity that existed somewhere deep within her, and maybe, just maybe, he could find it, bring it to the surface, and expose it to the human elements that would give it life. Like an artist with an inspiration.

 _That's a lot of maybes._ Dipper was no gambler, but he knew the odds were stacked against him. Actually, they were an Everest-sized pile. But even the tallest mountain on earth was overcome by at least one human being.


	15. Chapter 15 The Canvas is Readied

**A/N Finally got another chapter out. Also, there is a new cover art for this, a very special thanks goes out to for doing the wonderful artwork!**

Chapter 15

The Canvas is Readied

Belle opened her eyes to a room full of oval, unframed mirrors. It was infinitely long and wide, the mirrors seemingly hanging in thin air. There was no order, no particular pattern that they hung in, no neat rows, they were just chaotically scattered in the infinite space. It didn't take too long for her to realize that they all held memories. Her memories. Bill Cipher's memories. Bipper's memories. Every form ever taken, every being ever inhabited...she saw the memories of all of them.

She was in her own mindscape. Or so she thought, until she became aware of her inability to change things at will. A helpless feeling overcame her as she remembered what had happened in Stanley's mind; she was trapped.

The mirror holding this memory was behind her, seemingly burning into her awareness. She turned and faced it.

A small room in the shack, Stan Pines in his easy chair, a golden being morphing into panicked features, a desperate final plea to another being. Drowning in blue flames.

Without warning, the mirror shatters into a million splinters. All the others follow, like infinite dominoes falling, all starting from the first to go in the center. It's almost like being in the center of a nuclear bomb detonation, the wave of destruction sent out like ripples in a pond. The sound is deafening, but at the same time non-existent.

Belle is now surrounded by nothing, the glass shards disappearing in the blink of an eye. She looks all around, trying to find something, anything. But still, there is nothing. Then the sound of thunder booms above her. Reflexively she looks up, only to see a downpour of glistening mirror shards raining down on her at physically impossible speed. Barely having a half second to even close her eyes, glass is barreling down on top of her. She kneels down and puts her arms protectively over her head, trying to shield herself from the impaling shards.

Miraculously, not a single fragment hits the ground, but all manage to end up hitting her straight on. The impact is like being sand blasted by an extremely high-powered tool used for removing paint from metal. She feels each and every piece of glass tear into her skin on every inch of her body that is exposed, being pushed deeper into her flesh by the repeated impact of the assault. Before she collapses from the unbearable physical pain, the barrage suddenly stops. There were no more shards to fall from the sky. The storm had passed and she manages to stand up despite the stinging pain, stabilizing herself once again.

But then came a different kind of pain. It was as if each splinter of mirror had entered her blood stream and was now fighting to make its way back to her heart; a trillion stabs of tiny knives scratching and clawing at her veins as they're shoved along with blood. The feeling of fullness began to invade her chest, her heart engorging with jagged shards. All the infinitesimal jabbing coalesced into one immensely painful stab, exploding outward from the very core of her heart. A gush of crimson laced with sparkling glass sprayed out as her chest was ripped open.

Happening to anyone else, she would have sat back and enjoyed the show. But this was happening to her. The pain was very real. The anguish was her own. Bitter tears she didn't know she could produce spill from her swollen eyes as she doubles over from the onslaught of more pain. She curses her human body and its sensitive nerve endings. Never has she experienced anything even remotely like this. Pain used to be hilarious. Now, it is beyond horrifying.

Just when she thought she couldn't handle it any longer, on the verge of begging the Creator for death, it stopped. She was whole. There were no lacerations, no punctures, and no tear in any part of her flesh, but she was left with a dull ache. The bloody shards that had ruptured her chest all hung in suspended animation in front of her. She blinked her wet eyes, and suddenly the fragments came together, forming one large, solid mirror, dripping with her own blood.

Unable to look away from it, she was forced to observe every memory. They flashed by with blurring speed, but were absorbed by her mind fully, allowing her to process every single memory perfectly. Having a human psyche, she began to feel an unbearable weight in her consciousness. Thousands of years of having brought misery, desolation, shame, despair, nightmares, and depression to the human race suddenly came back on her. So much sadness and guilt mentally pervaded her at once that she once again kneeled down, unable to stay up on her feet.

She finally felt everything they felt. Every human emotion she never had, it was experienced instantly. The burden of even one human's emotional pain would have been enough to convey the message of her gross apathy towards them, affecting her to want to cease with her indiscriminate abuse of mankind. The burden of millions, however, would be enough to break her.

The emotional pain, she quickly became aware, was one she couldn't bear. She thought the physical pain was severe, but this... this was a completely different level of hell. The grueling mental anguish overcame her, and she felt her eyes close and her body become enveloped in blackness.

* * *

Dipper knew what he wanted to do, and so he sat by Belle's side for the duration of her unconsciousness. He texted Mabel for the umpteenth time that night, once again apologizing for having left early. He told her he would explain everything and that she would understand why he had to do it, if she would just come home.

Finally, around two in the morning, a noise from the front door startled Dipper who had dozed off next to Belle. He quickly sat up and called out to his sister.

"Mabel? I'm upstairs..." he said. Not getting a response, he quickly added, "You need to come up here so I can explain."

After some shuffling of keys and the sound of a purse being dropped on the floor, he could hear footsteps slowly ascending the stairs. A few more seconds and Mabel's sullen face came around the door frame.

"You better have a good explanation," she mumbled, not looking at her brother. "You promised..." At that point she looked up at Dipper, and her mouth dropped open as she spotted the seemingly asleep blonde. "What happened to Belle?! Is she ok?..." Then her brother's outfit caught her eye. "... And what the hell are you wearing?!"

Mabel scurried over to sit on the side of the bed near her brother, her face awash with concern.

"She's unconscious right now," Dipper began, "and she has been for a while."

"Why didn't you tell me something like this had happened?" she scolded. "I would've come sooner! H-how...W-when...?" she stuttered, but couldn't form a coherent question.

"Relax, Mabel. I think she's fine, just passed out from draining her energy to fix me...I think," he tried to reassure. His sister looked at him, confusion on her face.

"What do you mean, _fix_ you? Are you hurt?!" she cried, desperation laced with concern clearly overwhelming her.

"Ok, you're going to have to let me talk and you just sit there and listen, alright?" She simply nodded her agreement. He inhaled deeply before starting again.

"We had left the hall because I needed a breather. I just wanted to go for a short walk, and she came with me. We were walking down the sidewalk and I was lost in thought for a moment before realizing I could no longer hear her walking with me. I turned around and she was gone. Just _gone_ , Mabel...disappeared, and then I found this note."

He pulled out the yellow paper and handed it to her. She looked it over and then looked back to him, wanting him to continue.

"As you can see, it's coded, and because she had so suddenly gone missing...I had to get home to decipher it as quickly as possible. I'm sorry, I know I promised you...it killed me to do it, but I hope you will understand. Mabel...she's _him_. She's Bill Cipher."

Almost instinctively, Mabel inched away from the blonde, but then stopped and looked at her brother again. "D-did he...she hurt you?"

"She showed up here, in our room, just as I had figured out what the message said. Long story short, she put me in these clothes, we argued, I hit her, broke my hand, she healed it, we argued some more, I jumped her, she threw me across the room, I think I broke a rib and punctured a lung, I passed out, woke up, I was healed again, and she was passed out on the floor. And now, here we are."

Mabel was wide-eyed in disbelief at her brother's words. It took her a minute to fully digest that abbreviated version of what went down.

"So, you hit her? I mean, I can understand why...and it's Bill, so it's not like hitting a _real_ woman...but, dang! And you got hurt while trying to attack her...but she healed you?" Her brother simply nodded. "So why is she passed out, then?"

"I-I'm not sure. Maybe it took too much out of her to heal me? I noticed that she seemed to be a bit tired after she healed my hand. Maybe this time was too much... I don't know." He noticed his sister had a strange look on her face. "What?"

"And she isn't bound up down in the basement, why? Surely Ford's got something down there that would keep her...him...whatever!... contained while we figure out what to do, right?"

"Well, that's the thing..." He nervously played with the vest zipper as he thought about how to break it to her that he _wouldn't_ be trying to contain the entity that was the embodiment of all chaos who tried to end their family, as well as the whole world. "I decided to not do that."

Once again, Mabel's mouth dropped. Normally, she would have been the one to suggest clemency, but the horrible memories of Bill trying to kill them were overpowering any inclination to feel mercy.

"WHAT?! Are you crazy?! This is the demon that nearly killed us all! The demon that _possessed_ you and turned people into stone! The demon that was getting ready to kill me before Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford spoke up to make their deal, effectively saving my life! The demon that put us all through a living _hell_!" She finally stopped her sermon and began to suck in short breaths.

"Mabel, I know. Don't you think I know that? I went over all of that in my head, and came to the conclusion that, oddly enough, I would think you would have come to, also. I have a feeling, deep down, that being human has to have afforded her with even the smallest trace of humanity. I think she is capable of feeling what we feel, of experiencing what it is to be human. We just need to help her out a bit..."

"Wow, that does sound like me... But what if she doesn't? If she destroys everything? What then? I won't even be able to tell you 'I told you so' cuz we'll all be _dead_!" she exclaimed as she nudged him with her elbow.

"I don't know, Mabel. It's a feeling I have. You should know the one." He smiled at her, and she partially smiled back, still feeling very uneasy about the whole situation.

"Uuuugh..." she sighed. "Bro-bro, you had better be right about this." She got up, gathered her night clothes, and started walking out of the room to go change in the bathroom. Looking back at the passed out blonde, and then her brother again, she smiled. "Are you staying up to keep an eye on her?"

"I'm gonna try. I dozed off for a bit before you had gotten home, though, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to for the whole night. Either way, I'm a pretty light sleeper, so I'll know if she moves at all."

"Okay..." she trailed off in a sing-song voice as she headed out of the room.

"He-hey, Mabel?" Dipper asked before she was completely out.

"Yeah, Dip-Dop?"

"Thanks for understanding...and I'm sorry about tonight, I really am." He stretched and yawned as he lay back down on his bed next to the blonde.

"Sure, Dipper. I know why now, so it's ok. Love you, bro..."

"Love you, too, sis."

When she finally returned, he had already fallen asleep, unaware of the dreadful physical and emotional trauma Belle was experiencing right beside him.


	16. One Empty Mindscape, Coming Right Up

**One Empty Mindscape, Coming Right Up**

A pull on her field of energy coaxed her curiosity enough to want to open her eyes. The blackness was gone and she was sitting surrounded by a grey expanse of non-elemental ground and a grey firmament. She sensed there was something, _someone_ , behind her, and slowly turned, scared of who, _or what_ , it was. Never in all her existence was she as happy to see a human as she was in this moment. Her all-encompassing human emotions were still resolutely present, not unlike a toddler making darn sure their mother knows they are there every second of the day, clinging and needy.

The instant her blue eyes met with the brown ones above her, she was hit with the disheartening realization that this particular human was probably only here to heap more abuse, both physical and mental, on her.

And could she really blame him for wanting to do just that? After what she had put him and his family through, and having relived it through real and vivid human emotion, she absolutely could not. She immediately averted her eyes and turned back away from him, waiting for the inevitable.

Dipper could see by her posture and by the look of anguish in her face that her action was done out of self-loathing, and not in any way out of arrogance or pride. He slowly made to sit down on her right side, not too close, but close enough for contact if the situation warranted it. He did not move to make eye contact, but rather trained his gaze at the seemingly interesting grey expanse beneath him that also had Belle's attention.

Not really sure where to start, Dipper drew upon a deep breath and gently let his thoughts flow out of his mouth.

"Looks like I fell asleep next to you," he began with a bit of shakiness in his voice. Belle could hear the smile in his voice and it made her immediate fears of being harshly berated recede, if only just a bit. "I managed to pull you into my mindscape... well," he looked around him briefly, "not exactly my _usual_ mindscape. I didn't want any distractions, so...I guess this is what my mind came up with."

Belle's tension seemed to dissipate with each word Dipper spoke. She wanted to talk, to apologize for whom and what she was, to rid herself of the overwhelming guilt that had attached itself to her like an incurable cancer. But she decided against it, deciding instead to give Dipper the floor, so to speak, to allow him to say what he needed without interruption. This certainly wasn't her usual style, but under the circumstances, she no longer wanted to hear the sound of her own voice, so she stayed silent.

Cipher was silent. A paradox not unnoticed by the brunet sitting next to her. Yet, there was no mention of it, no throwing it in her face. He wasn't there to do that, after all, as it really wasn't his forte to kick people while they were down. She remained perfectly still, and silent.

"So, I thought this would be a good time...and place...to talk. We can't really hurt each other here," he smiled with humor in his tone, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Expecting some sort of reaction, a glance, a change in facial expression, anything at all, he suddenly became overwhelmingly concerned when he got nothing. "A-are you alright?" he asked as it occurred to him that she could be in some sort of shock.

She wanted to say that no, she wasn't alright. She wanted to explode into a fit of emotional baggage dumping. She wanted to tell him what she felt, the horrible way she felt. She wanted him, no, _needed_ him, to comfort her in return. She wanted to know why he even cared if she was alright in the first place. She wanted to tell him that she feared he would tell her it was all going to be ok because she was just a being of pure energy, anyways, and that she wasn't really human and that none of the human emotions she was now feeling would stick around long enough to matter in her immortal existence.

She wanted to do all that, but refrained, opting to simply look over at him briefly and give a half-nod.

"Well, ok...do you know what happened to you?" A slight shrug was her only response. "I'm guessing that you lost too much energy and passed out from it, or something like that. Is that an accurate assumption?" Not wanting to get into the details of how this human form worked, she simply nodded. "Well, thank you for that...fixing the damage you did to me, that is. And knowing that it wasn't without personal sacrifice, well, that tells me there is some, if only a miniscule amount, of humanity within you. I don't know if it's only because of the vessel you have currently, and maybe the humanity comes with that, or if it's always been there...there's a very good possibility that you go back to being the evil demon, or whatever, with no feeling at all for anyone but yourself the moment you've left that body. These are the things I struggled with before coming to a decision about what to do with you."

Those last words got Belle's attention more than anything, causing her to glance over at him again with a look of confusion mixed with a trace of fear and anger. The fear and anger stemmed from the reality that he did, in fact, have different options in ways he could "deal" with her. At the moment, she was effectively trapped. And vulnerable. And weak. Then she realized that, deep down, what she truly feared was the lack of control over her situation. For the second time in her existence, she was at the receiving end of the whip.

"I've decided...well, with Mabel's blessing, of course...that I am not going to do anything. I'm not going to imprison you, bind you, or otherwise try to contain you in any way." Belle had to say something upon hearing this.

"How can you-" she began, but was immediately cut off.

"Just...let me finish," Dipper demanded. "You are free to go when you wake up and are able to." He looked down at his hand that was aimlessly picking at the fingernails on the other. "But...I would like for you to stay."

Belle was beginning to think that Dipper had gone completely insane, or that maybe this was some sort of dream that she would soon wake up from only to find herself magically bound in the Mystery Shack's basement. They may not have the journals any more (she had burned them beyond saving during Weirdmageddon), but she knew this family would have many other valuable resources from which to obtain that kind of information. Either way, a pool of anxiety was starting to grow within her.

Dipper continued to explain to her, like he did to Mabel, the reasoning for his decision. And she continued to listen, and wonder how this human could say what he was saying. No person, not a single one in the history of humanity who has dealt with Bill Cipher, would ever think about, let alone do, what Dipper Pines was doing. Did he really see something that she didn't? Had she failed so miserably in this human form at being who she really was... the embodiment of all chaos... that she was actually being offered mercy by a mere mortal?

A hand on her shoulder suddenly pulled her from her thoughts, though she had heard every word Dipper had spoken.

"So, yeah...that's what I decided to do." He looked over at her with a gentle, yet concerned smile. He could sense that she was still not quite sure of the situation, or maybe that she was just still trying to process everything. "Are you sure you're ok?"

She looked up at him with the kind of facial expression that said 'is it alright if I speak now?' laced with just enough sarcasm and sass to remind him of the Belle he knew, which made Dipper smile in return.

"Sure. I suppose I'll be ok. I've just experienced an excruciating physical and mental trauma, the extent of which would have hospitalized and/or killed at least a billion different human beings had it been spread evenly among the world's current population, and the one person on the entire planet that would...no that _should_ want to imprison me for as long as humanly possible has just finished telling me why he isn't going to do just that." She blinked a few times and nodded once as if pondering that for one more moment, just to be sure. "Yep. Everything's just a-ok now."

"Well, glad to hear you haven't lost your charming personality," Dipper smiled, but then suddenly lost his amused demeanor. "Wait." Sudden realization of what she had just said about physical and mental trauma hit him hard. "What are you talking about? You experienced something _physically_ traumatizing? _And_ mentally? So you're hurt, then?" His words were laced with genuine concern as he looked her over, but was at a loss for what she could have been talking about as she looked perfectly fine.

Belle sighed, not really wanting to relive the ordeal by talking about it, but figured she should explain. She proceeded to let him in on the mirrors, the memories, the emotions, the shards of glass, the blood... A visible shudder ran through her from head to toe. Dipper absently grabbed her hand to hold it in his own, something...anything to comfort her after hearing about her experience.

"But, how was any of that _real_? I mean...we aren't _really_ here, are we? Aren't we back in my room, sleeping?" Dipper asked, confused. Secretly he hoped he hadn't come across as sounding indifferent to what had happened, because she was clearly affected by it, real or not.

She looked over at him, and he couldn't be sure, but he thought he could sense some disappointment in her eyes. "It was as real as the battle you fought with Gideon and his robot, as real as all the manliness trials you went through with the Manotaurs, as real as... all the times you and your sister have been there for each other and helped each other get through all of life's little annoyances." She briefly looked down at herself and continued, "And through the big ones, as well."

"Well, yeah, but that all happened in reality...and this is," he paused to look around at the gray expanse, "all in the mind, right?"

The blonde suddenly removed her hand from his and punched him in the shoulder, quite hard. Dipper pulled back and glared at her. "Ow! What the heck was that for?!" His eyes grew wide. "Oh. Right. I get it now. Did you have to do that, though?" he lamented as he rubbed his now very sore arm.

"Well, I figured it'd be faster than explaining with words," she smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose...but please, don't do that again, unless you want me to rethink the whole idea of letting you go..." he teased.

"You know you're insane for wanting to do this, right?"

"Yep. But then, you already knew that...didn't you." The brunet couldn't help but grow a wide grin on his face.

Dipper stood, grabbing Belle's hand to help her up, as well. Without looking at him, she took his hand and let herself be pulled up. To her surprise, he quickly pulled her into a hug, wrapping her with warm and gentle arms. Resting her head against his shoulder, she felt like she could remain in this position for eternity, but then the thought that his mortality had a relatively short lifespan brought her back to the harsh realization of that not ever being a possibility.


	17. Chapter17 An Epiphany at Mabel's Expense

**Hey, look who decided to show up and put something out there for this... I am so totally blocked on this, guys...I'm so sorry. But I will finish it...I will not let it go!**

 **An Epiphany at Mabel's Expense**

 _"..."_

Dipper sensed there was someone speaking, but couldn't tell who, or what it was they were saying.

 _"...-Dop...et up..ou laz..sack!"_

There it was again. This time he could make out some sounds, but he still felt caught in a limbo-like state where he was semi-conscious but not fully awake.

"COME ON, DIPPER! GET UP ALREADY!"

Yep, he definitely heard that one loud and clear. He opened his eyes to see in his peripheral vision his sister's face only millimeters from his ear.

"Whoa! Ok! I'm up, I'm up!" he cried out as he nearly tumbled off the edge of the bed.

His experience in the mindscape had left him a bit woozy, and the thought occurred to him that maybe this was what a hangover felt like. He'd always wondered, but never wanted to really find out. He sat up on the edge of his bed and tried to focus his eyes, which seemed to be working independently, on his sister now standing in front of him. After several seconds of blinking, they finally decided to work together and his vision became normal once again.

"See what sleeping with me can do to you?" the sarcastic, yet still angelic, voice rang out from behind Mabel.

Belle stepped to the side so Dipper could see who was speaking to him, though he already knew, of course. She then casually flopped herself down onto Mabel's bed, claiming one of many pillows under the side of her head as she laid her body parallel to the wall.

"Ha-ha," he deadpanned in return. "But it looks as though I wasn't the only one affected here. You seem a bit more...pale, than usual?" he questioned with sincere concern.

"Yes, well, my usual sexy glow will return when my energy has been fully recouped. Just, give a girl some time. Unless..." She raised an eyebrow and donned a cheeky smile, but didn't continue.

"Unless... _what_?" Dipper asked, but had a feeling of what she was getting at.

"Ahem!" Mabel suddenly interrupted. "Um, not sure what you two are talking about, but you do know I'm standing _right here_ , right?!" She directed her concern mostly at Belle.

"Oh, don't worry, Star, I won't be taking anyone's energy from them...unwillingly, of course." She winked in Dipper's direction.

The mention of being able to take another person's energy wasn't what made Dipper's face scrunch into a look of bewilderment. Knowing who, or rather what, she was, he kinda figured that was a possibility. No, what perplexed him more than that was how she had casually called his sister 'Star', and how Mabel had just accepted it like it wasn't the pet name of the triangular demon (chaos being...he had to keep reminding himself of her preferred nomenclature for what she really was) that was once a half second away from killing her.

"So, how long have you been awake, then? 'Cause it seems like the two of you have been talking together for a while, what with you calling her 'Star' and she not responding with wanting to gouge out your eyes, or something similar."

"Long enough to tell me everything that happened while you two were asleep," Mabel jumped in before Belle could respond. "And, actually, I don't mind the name. It never bothered me, really. Bill's names for us were a direct association with his zodiac, which, to me, is a reminder of the power I potentially hold over him...or her...ugh, whatever!"

Dipper was proud of his sister in that moment. Mabel was always able to see the beneficial side of things; the positive always outweighed the negative. She saw things in a much better light than he did. Then he remembered how he had reacted to being called 'Pine Tree'. He definitely couldn't be proud of that particular moment.

Belle briefly narrowed her eyes at the female twin's statement, knowing full well that Mabel's potential power, however brief and limited it may have been, was exactly that: Brief and limited. She wouldn't let that bother her, though. It was in the past.

But Mabel hadn't used the past tense to speak of it. That realization caused Belle to sit up. _"...the power I potentially_ _ **hold**_ _..." Not 'held', as in the past, but 'hold', as in still does._

These thoughts legitimately frightened her, causing the blonde to quickly retreat from the room. Her movements were quite clumsy; still very much deprived of her usual amounts of energy that would have allowed her a more fluid and graceful exit. It was still sudden enough, however, to startle the other two occupants into a temporary paralysis whereby they simply remained locked in place, mouths slightly dropped open, staring at each other and simultaneously wondering what on earth had just happened.

Mabel, not surprisingly as she is the more vocal of the two, broke the twin trance first. "Was it something I said?" she questioned almost humorously. But then the thought that she may really have said something to offend Belle crossed her mind and her tone did a 180° turn into major seriousness. "Ohmygosh! It was! I've offended her, haven't I! Dipper...I didn't mean to-"

"Mabel! It's ok, calm down! I'm sure it wasn't anything you said. Maybe she's upset about something else. Maybe she just recalled something about her traumatic experience in the mindscape again." Dipper tried to reassure his sister that she had done nothing wrong, but was beginning to think that maybe something she had said actually _did_ affect her. "Wait- you said something about the potential power we hold over her."

The gears of Dipper's mind were a whirring buzz as he contemplated that statement. He had forgotten about the zodiac, and, in turn, had forgotten about its significance. Clearly there was something about it that had made Belle uncomfortable enough to want to leave the conversation altogether.

"See! I did upset her. I'm gonna go find her and make sure she's ok. C'mon, Dip," she said as she reached toward the boy who was lost in thought. The alpha twin was never one to tolerate the offending of another's feelings, and saw it an even greater sin that she had been the offender. Even if it was Bill Cipher who was on the receiving end, she still couldn't live with herself, and so she made haste out of their room, dragging a startled and unprepared Dipper along by his shirt sleeve.

It didn't take long before the subject of the elder twin's search was found, having crashed on the old couch on the covered porch after fleeing the upstairs room; her previous trauma to blame for the fact that she couldn't get any farther away than that. Mabel flew out the door, seemingly as if every passing second was one in which she couldn't bear to remain alive as long as there were someone in existence whom she had slighted.

"There you are! Belle, I'm so sorry if I-" but her sincere and well thought-out (which is an amazing feat in and of itself, seeing as only a few moments had passed since committing the offense) apology was cut off by the blonde currently slumped on the cushioned piece of furniture, defeat clear in her features.

"Don't. I don't want your apologies... I- I just want to be alone right now." Belle shifted her posture away from Mabel, hopefully a clear visual signal to go along with the verbal request.

 _No. There is no way I'm going through the rest of this day carrying around this kind of guilt._ "No! You don't get to do that," she cried. "If you know me _at all_ , Cipher, then you know I can't live with myself knowing I've caused another person any kind of grief! So you are going to let me get this out!"

Belle laughed slightly at the girl's determination and looked up at her. "You don't understand, Shooting Star. You have nothing to apologize for. What you said, it's absolutely true. Never be sorry for speaking the truth. It is more powerful than any lie. I realize this now, and it scares me more than anything. So don't worry that you've upset me or hurt my feelings. You haven't."

Belle glanced away from the female twin, at the younger who had been standing in the doorway behind her. She smiled warmly, then returned to finish her explanation to the still distraught girl standing before her.

"I have never known fear before. Now, I am completely vulnerable to it. You do still hold a power over me, one that you always have had, but that I never took seriously or even imagined could reach its fruition. Your words were merely the conduit by which I was reminded of the fact that I am not invincible; that I am a being susceptible to rules and control, no matter how much I think I am not. I just need some time to myself; to gain back some energy and reflect on who and what I am, and just what it is I'm going to do with myself."

Mabel sighed. "Fine...but I'm still sorry," she stubbornly sulked.

Belle rolled her eyes, knowing full well she would not win this one, and so decided to let it go. "Fine."

The alpha twin turned on her heel, satisfied with the outcome, and headed into the kitchen to fix some breakfast for everyone. Dipper, still standing by the door, debated internally on whether or not he should stay with Belle on the porch. His loitering did not go unnoticed. Before he could make up his mind, the blonde was speaking again.

"You do know the definition of _alone_ , right?" she playfully chided. "Because your standing less than two feet away from me kinda defeats the purpose..."

Dipper smiled at her. "Yeah, sorry. I was debating whether I should stick around with you or not, but I guess you're really wanting that personal space at the moment."

Belle gave him a telling look.

"Right. I'll just- go help Mabel in the kitchen..."

He walked away feeling a tad bit dejected, but decided some alone time may really be what she needed. He found his sister busy mixing pancake batter.

 _Cipher...what are you going to do with yourself..._ The blonde was left alone with her thoughts, as she wanted. At least until a waft of freshly made pancakes came floating out the door, drifting into and alighting her human senses.


End file.
